The Hogwarts Guidance Counselor
by Alikuma
Summary: The new Professor Juniper A. Gray comes to Hogwarts to fulfill requirements of a new Ministry law, stating that Magical schools must have a Guidance Counselor and a course on creativity to "create better magical thinkers and inventors". Severus Snape gets her as a personal shrink, and minor hilarity/major romance ensues. M rating for safety and later chapters. Set in the 1980's.
1. Chapter 1

Authors Note (A/N): This story does flip flop back and forth between the points of view of Severus Snape and Juniper Gray (OC)(Joon)

Disclaimer: All things related to Harry Potter go to Warner Bros. Entertiainment, Schoolastic Books inc., J.K. Rowling, and ect. My OC's are MINE!

Enjoy!

Chapter : 1 - New Teacher

Joon-

Joon sat down at one of the Students tables at random, smiling at them and waiting for the usual beginning of the year.

Each one of the professors came into the hall and sat at the high table in turn.

There was the massive grounds keeper, Hagrid, the recently added tiny Professor Flitwick (Charms), Professor Babbling (Ancient Runes), Professor Burbage (Muggle Studies), Headmaster Dumbledore, Professor Sprout (Herbology), Professor Kettleburn (Care of Magical Creatures), Professor Vector (Arithmancy), and Professor Sinistra (Astronomy).

The Potions Master, Professor Snape, came in last before the sorting of the students in a dramatically dead-on-time fashion. As he stalked down the center aisle impressively, sneer plastered on his face, he seemed to ooze an animal awareness of everything and everyone around him.

The up-coming first years were led in by Professor McGonagall (Transfiguration), and sorted. One of them came over and sat in the seat next to Joon with a kind smile.

"Welcome back to Hogwarts!" Professor Dumbledore announced to the hall full of students. He went on with the whole shebang about having first years in and all that jazz, but Joon wasn't exactly paying attention. She was staring thoughtfully at the floor whilst receiving funny looks from the students sitting around her, who wondered who she was, and what in god's name a twenty-four year old was doing sitting at Gryffindor table. "In further news, to satisfy a new regulation made by the Ministry of Magic, we have added to our staff a sort of Guidance Counselor! As a magically trained Psychologist, she is teaching a specialized class on creativity you are all required by ministry law to take at least once during your time at Hogwarts. All years will have her this year, and then next year, there will be several smaller classes. Please give a warm welcome to Professor Juniper A. Gray!"

The whole Great Hall broke out in polite applause, but Joon didn't stand up, or seem to even notice what was going on around her. Stiff Professor McGonagall tried to flag her down to make a speech or whatever, but at every tiny gesture, she just shook her head and looked nervous.

"Professor, would you like to give us a few words?" Albus asked pointedly.

Joons face didn't change when she said "No thanks, Albus."

Dumbledore went on with the announcements as though she hadn't made a peep, and dinner started. Joon didn't eat, but supped every now and then on a goblet of some clear, bluish smoking substance.

She glanced at the high table, watching the wave of whisper reach all the way to the end, where HE sat. He sneered unappreciatively at the Professor next to him, who was now making motions to try to get him to budge up. He finally gave in, and made his way down towards Gryffindor table.

"Professor Juniper?" one of the students next to her asked.

"It's just Joon."

The little girl stared at her. "Um… Joon, What are you drinking?"

"It's some stuff I have to have in the evenings to keep calm."

"So does that mean we have an insane guidance counselor?" asked a silky masculine voice from behind her.

"No, not so much insane, as hypermnesic with issues controlling direction of thoughts. What's up with you today, Severus?" she said calmly, turning to face him with an impassive expression.  
Professor Severus Snape was behind her, in long billowy robes and partially long, jet black greasy hair.

"Why have you not taken your seat at the high table?"

_He can't be more than twenty-five and he's already intimidating and worn looking -_ Joon thought to herself boredly

"I want to get to know the students better, and if trouble starts, I'll be right here." She replied.

He stared at the younger teacher for a moment, turned on his heel, and re-took his place at the teachers table. She watched him for a moment, thinking about how strange he seemed. She shook her head and continued her conversation with the second year.

Dinner ended, and she went out in the entrance hall, where she could feel eyes on the back of her head, but decided not to turn and look. Down two flights of stairs in the dungeons, she closed the door on her room, stood back, and listened. She heard footsteps come close to her door, stop, and the brushing of robes on the floor. There was a hesitation, and then a swift three knocks on her door. She stood there, staring at the oak for a moment, and opened it. Severus was standing there. Neither of their faces changed.

"Hey," She said to crack the ice of the awkward silence that lie between them for a few moments.

"Hello," He replied politely. "You chose this room?"

"No not really, I got booted out of one on the fourth floor by a picture of a duke that had staring problems." She said.

Severus-

Juniper definitely had well practiced occlumency, because Severus couldn't penetrate it for the life of him. _She is so beautiful_, he thought. Her head was adorned with dark brown hair that began straight at the top, turned to waves level with her neck, and ended in graceful curls near her shoulder blades. Her eyes were the shape of almonds, and a dazzling shimmery purple. He was getting a strange, fluttery feeling in the bottom of his stomach… but there were other times to deal with these things, so he forced the feeling to the back of his subconscious and ignored it.

"I'll be down the hall, should you happen to need anything," He said, and went towards his own rooms.

She was one person he didn't understand. Albus had told him she was hypermnesic, meaning she could remember everything she had ever heard, read, or seen. She was from the United States of America, with little experience as a teacher, and had to take calming drought in the evenings to keep her thoughts in order, otherwise she would have a meltdown due to the total calamity of over two decades of thoughts feelings, and daily life.

He walked into his rooms.

Joon had graduated muggle High School at eight and a half, learned of her magical capabilities, then came through an American Magical institution by age fourteen, and afterwards developed her own way of using magic without a wand. She had then moved to England at age sixteen with her stepfather after her mother had been killed, and gotten a psychiatric position at the ministry when she was eighteen.

He wondered why she would make up an excuse not to sit at the high table. She was a teacher, and had the ability to command total respect, yet she wanted to stay in the same level as those that were under her…

He pulled his clothes on after getting out of the shower.

She, for some reason, had this odd glint in her eye when he had knocked on the door. He knew she knew someone was coming, because she hadn't walked but a few steps to get to the door. That silence for a few seconds when she had opened the door was so awkward. It had his stomach in knots for a split second.

Then a thought occurred to him as he pulled the covers over himself in the cold dungeon room and snuffed the candle out. Why was he thinking so much about her? He was over analyzing things again, that was it. It had to be.

But still… Severus thought about the odd feelings inside of him as they had conversed. What did they mean? He remembered something similar from long ago, but that was preposterous.

He dreamt of her that night for the first of many times.

Joon-

Severus left in his usual billowy way, and Joon closed the door. She hoped the walls were thick, because she let lose this defining scream that rattled the window panes and sat down on her bed in furious thought. WHY was it so hard for her to do this, to be so wanting of something, or someone?

He had this strange way about him. He purposefully led others to think he was no one to get to know better. He made himself seem like a horrible person to drive away everybody around him. She knew Dumbledore had told her about Severus. Maybe she could be of some help so he would peel back a few layers of onion-like cover to reveal the actual identity of the sumptuous fruit within himself that he so desperately hid from the world around him.

She turned the shower knob to shut off the warm water flowing onto her now cleansed body.

It was just… She had seen the strange expression cross his face when she opened the door. He thought something of her, she knew body language well enough to know he had almost let something slip, but then his occlumency took over and it hid it completely. She so wanted to know what he had felt when he looked into her eyes, but he just refused beyond a shadow of a doubt to show anybody.

She pulled on her clothes, sat on the edge of her bed and stared pensively into the burning candle at her bedside.

Why, she thought, was she thinking so much about this? About him? She had to be over analyzing this, surely. She had renounced loving anybody like that at a fairly young age because she had gotten a panoramic view of what heartbreaks through different ages and situations looked like in a very short time, and had a feel to how they felt when she lost her mother… But why would these amorous senses be surfacing now? Here?

She capped the light and curled up under the covers against the cold of the dungeons.

Severus meandered in and out of her thoughts until she finally went to sleep.

She dreamt of him for the first of many times that night.

A/N: Please Review/Favorite, all comments (either critisisim or praise) are taken into consideration!

PLEASE tell me if I spelled something wrong or if there's any flaws in grammar and personality of a character!

HELP WANTED: Looking for a Beta!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Woo Hoo! Here we go! This ones gory, and we see some of that romance/hilarity! More on the way!

Replies to reviewers!:

Ja495ck: Severus Snape was the youngest person to ever teach at Hogwarts as a professor at about age 21-22 so he's been there for at least two years as a teacher. He was born On January 9, 1960, 21 days before Lilly (Evans) Potter, and would have therefore been in his 20's during the 1980's, which is important to the plot of the story and for the sequel to work out ;) Thanks for Reviewing!

...

CH2: First Day on the Job

Joon-

At about seven thirty, Joon showed up at breakfast, taking a reserved seat at the Ravenclaw table dead between two of that houses brightest occupants, immediately beginning a debate. At eight thirty, she was hiding under her desk as her class entered a room with no place for them to sit. The floor was empty of student's seats, with only the professor's desk in the front.

One of the third years wondered aloud "Maybe there was a misprint on our schedules?"

Then another pointed out the papers on Joon's desk "This is signed Professor Juniper Gray, so this has to be the room."

Joon suddenly and quietly came from under the desk, and sat in the chair behind it when nobody was looking, smiling kindly at the class.

"Hello, and Welcome to Professor Joon's Class on Creativity and Imagination," She said in her casually soothing, sweet voice, scaring the wits out of most of them. "Ladies and Gentlemen, today we won't be doing normal classowork. You are all going to sit or lie on the floor and be completely silent so I can tell you something. If you talk, I'll give you a detention with Mr. Filch." There was no protest, and then the resounding thud of about twenty kids dropping their school bags on the floor and sitting down as instructed.

"Okay, I suppose you're all wondering why I don't have any desks for you to sit in. Peeves the Poltergeist stole all ten and I need you to scour the school and retrieve them. You are all free range with full permission to be outside of my class this period. I require all of my desks to be here by the end of the class period, and if ALL of them aren't back, we will all sit here in complete silence for an entire week of detention. You will pair yourselves with the person you choose to sit with in that desk, and then find it together. You can by no means use magic except if you are in a life or death situation. Bye!"

She walked right out of the room, and went down the hall, as though taking a leisurely stroll in the park. The students were stunned and bewildered at her odd for a moment, and then they all began to get into pairs and eventually leave the classroom to go looking.

Severus-

Severus was just unlocking his potions room for the students, nothing out of the ordinary. When he opened his door, an extra desk was stuck to the ceiling, just being a desk. He looked at it incredulously, and pointed his wand at it, when peeves popped out of the center and sat at the upside-down desk like a good boy. He even stuck an apple on the edge closest to Severus for flare. Severus was on the verge of giving Peeves a piece of his mind when a twosome of third years entered his classroom, climbed onto the desk below the upside-down one, barely pulled it, it came unstuck, and they hopped off the desk, carrying the other surprisingly light one in their hands, and walked out, fitting it somehow through the door.

This got his brain working. Only one person came to mind with the mentality to do all this. Joon.

"Class, do the assignment on the board, and have it in a phial on my desk before the bell rings." He nearly flew out of the classroom and down the hall. He searched the dungeons, knocked on her door, and began to search the first floor, when he ran right into her in the hall, knocking her back into the wall, and forcing him onto the ground in front of her.

"Oh! Severus! I'm so sorry, I didn't see you." She took his hand and backed up her left foot to pull him up. "It's quite alright, Juniper, it's my fault." He said, causing her to do a double take. "Actually I've been looking for you. A student desk was stuck to my ceiling this morning." She laughed outright, coming forward and clutching her stomach. "I'm so sorry; I'll tell Peeves to put it somewhere else next class." Juniper said breathlessly, wiping a stray tear from her cheek and returning to a normal standing position.

He had never seen her in a state of humor. Her cheeks were red, her hair was slightly rumpled from coming forward so quickly, and there was a comical light in her eyes. He held back a blush.

He appraised at what he could see from this angle. Her obviously soft, luscious dark-brown hair, her soft skin… He just wanted to touch it, just once, but there were two sides to that argument. He wanted to, but he knew he couldn't, and probably never would. Damn.

Joon-

Joon could have sworn she saw Severus hold back a blush. Him! Blushing! At her… Hm.

There was a moment when she thought he might say something, but he kept it from her, as he kept his feelings locked up in side, away from prying eyes…

She realized something must have passed over her face, because Severus' expression changed to a pensive one, giving an unusual look to his features.

"So… I suppose you got the memo from Headmaster Dumbledore about our session thingies…" she asked him awkwardly, eyeing him warily.

"Yes, I have. And I assure you I don't need them. He's just a barmy, eccentric old fool."

Joon cocked her head to the side for a moment, regarding him.

"Alright."

It was Severus' turn to do a double take. "Excuse me?"

"I said 'Alright'." She replied again a bit clearer. "I can't force you to open up about anything you don't want to. You have to be willing to do so yourself. But you should know, I'm always here if you want to talk. About anything. I swear on my life I won't divulge anything we talk about to anybody without your permission, and I won't judge you or input my personal opinion unless asked. Okay?" she told him, her eyes giving way to her complete sincerity.

Severus nodded stiffly.

There was a silence cast over the first floor for a long stretch of time. No sound or movement but for breathing. If somebody had come by, they would have wondered if the two were having some sort of staring contest.

"Well, I'll be seeing you at lunch I suppose…" Joon said finally. Severus simply nodded again, turned on his heel, and left her standing there.

As she made her way up to her classroom to check on the third years' progress, she couldn't help but think about how much stronger that amorous feeling was. It had been manageable the previous day, and the dreams she could push away no problem, but it had become harder when presented with him up front. UGH!

When she arrived in her classroom, all of the desks were arranged in the usual two by five pattern, and the students were sitting on top of them, talking away. She was caught up in her thoughts, so she passed them right on by, without a backward glance. She turned the seat around to face the wall behind her desk, and sat down slowly into it, careful not to miss. The students became deadly quiet, waiting for her to say something, but when she never spoke, they continued to talk.

Joon continued to think of all this. These unforgettable butterflies in her stomach, the dull emptiness in her heart when he left… There was no way around it. She was in love with Severus Snape, and she wasn't entirely sure it was only one sided. She barely knew him, but her whole being was pushing her to get to know this dark, mysterious man… And frankly, she was scared to death.

The first morning class ended, and since she had no more until after lunch, she decided to wonder aimlessly until she finally found the headmasters office. Sure, she remembered about seven ways to get to it, but she needed time to think, so she figured she'd take the long way around.

Severus-

There were four bad phials of the calming drought his first class of the year, all with either too much or too little stirring involved. He graded them with none worthy of a grade above Acceptable.

She had seen it, the covering of his near blush. He knew it. He wondered about her reaction. That silence that always happened in their conversations, it seemed so empty. He wanted to fill it with something, but he didn't know what… Then the thought of touching Joon's skin came to mind, and the vision of two silhouettes coming together at the lips... He tried all he could to keep it away, and attempted to delve into a book lying on his desk, throw himself into his work to keep it out of his head but looking at the small print only made the vision even clearer, and more detailed, the two silhouettes now forming into a glorified version of Joon and himself sharing a passionate embrace.

Standing and beginning to pace, as was his habit, he began to analyze all of this.

He was crazy if he thought she could be attracted to him. He was too ugly, too dark, too… himself. There was no hope for these feelings of passing physical attraction, and before it could get out of hand, he mentally quashed them.

And what of her kind words and open arms to allow him to make the choice to have 'sessions' with her? Bah! What rubbish! Although there wasn't a doubt in his mind that she meant them, he simply didn't believe there was any merit in doing so. He was just simply a moody, temperamental person, and he would stay that way no matter how hard he tried.

Joon-

Joon was in a deep pensive thought. Her eyes were unfocused, her steps were sluggish, and she seemed to be walking at an odd angle. Never the less, she didn't notice it at all.

"Why, Juniper! I've been looking for you!" the sound of the headmasters voice brought her crashing down to reality. In fact it was so startling, she lost balance and fell backwards onto the floor, knocking her head against the wall with a resounding crack. Albus was thankfully not one to be easily stunned.

"Capital idea! Why not talk here?" saying so, he sat next to her, creaking in his age all the way down.

"Actually," she confessed, "I was looking for you too. There's something awfully strange going on."

Albus' face didn't change much when he asked "How so?"

She thought about it for a moment before answering.

"I think I've fallen in love."

He turned towards her with a twinkle in his eye. "How does that make you feel?"

Joon giggled sweetly at the Psychiatric cliché, and replied "I'm afraid of being hurt. I've never really had these kinds of feelings before for anybody, so I have no clue how to handle it. I can deal with hormonal teenage lust, but this is uncharted territory in my training so far."

Joons purple eyes looked deeply into his, in wonder of the crooked nosed man next to her. He knew about almost everything that was going on in the castle at almost any time of the day, so how couldn't he know?

"I'd like to hear your observations on the matter," She told him.

"There are about seven million to one odds of a person meeting their real companion, the person made for them, as much as they are made for said companion. Even with those odds, love still comes through, changing perspectives and completing lives every day." He paused for a moment. "He's a hard egg to crack, but you are a fairly accomplished psychiatrist, so it shouldn't be too much of a hassle. Give him some time, and he'll realize those same feelings you have for him are returned equally, if not in greater size. He may try to close you off at times, but it's only because he's not used to being with other people, namely females, so take it easy and make sure he understands you're not leaving him behind like others have before. Good luck."

He got up, joints popping, patted her on the head like a good girl, and walked down the hall to disappear as he descended the stairs that hadn't been too far away.

Joon sat there for a moment, taking all of this in, and finally realized the back of her head was throbbing like there was no tomorrow. She tried to get up, but did so too fast, and fell again, but sideways, hitting the floor on her shoulder, with yet another crack, signaling that she had just fractured her left shoulder blade. Wonderful. Her vision began to fade into a fuzzy black and white picture of a ghost gliding towards her before complete black came, and she succumbed to unconsciousness…

Severus-

Juniper failed to appear at lunch. The Headmaster hadn't eaten a bite, and he had this worried look on his aged features that only made his eyes seem to dart from the door to Slytherin table at her empty seat. He finally whispered to Severus "Go to the fifth floor and see if Juniper is all right." Albus was very agitated when he saw Severus had yet to move, but one sharp look had him striding down the fourth floor corridor and up the stairs to the fifth.

When he got to the first few steps, he noticed a small trail of dark red blood dripping into a pool at the bottom. He darted up the stairs, and became completely stunned by what he saw. Joon was lying unconscious on the cold, hard floor, with a thin huge pool of blood surrounding her head, soaking into her clothes and hair. The cold numbness that came over him allowed him to walk over to her and kneel beside her, getting blood all over the front of his shins and boots.

Her pulse was weak and the skin was ripped open over her cheek, shoulder and arm. He performed general healing charms to stop the bleeding before trying to wake her up to no avail.

The Gray lady, one of the Hogwarts ghosts came out of the wall and said "When you take her, be wary of her left shoulder. She fell on it, and I heard something crack." He nodded, and carefully picked her up in his arms, holding her at an odd angle, and resting her head on his shoulder before taking off at a safe yet speedy pace towards the hospital wing.

"Damn it, don't you dare die on me." He whispered to her as he strode down the hall with the door to the infirmary in view.

Joon-

… "Juniper? Juniper, wake up!"….….."When you take her, be wary of her left shoulder. She fell on it, and I heard something crack."… … "Damn it, don't you dare die on me."…..… "Oh my heavens, Severus! What happened?" ….. "She was lying on the floor, in a pool of blood. The Gray lady was there, and said she landed on her shoulder."…..…. "Here dear, this is the best bed in the infirmary."….. "Poppy, I suspect you have taken her in. How's she doing?" "The wound on the back of her head almost bled out, but she was saved in time to close it and have some of her blood replenished." …. "I see Severus hasn't left yet."… "No, he nodded off once or twice, but I think he's finally out." …. "Call for me when she wakes up. It's my fault she's like this, I should have noticed when she fell that she had begun to pale, but with our conversational topic, I figured that was normal for her"…

The night was cool in the hospital wing, and the moon shone beams of light onto the sheets of Joons bed. Severus had woken again, and was now looking out onto the grounds. Joon's eyes fluttered open, blinking steadily to clear the haze. She slowly sat up, and saw his silhouette against the stars. Black against white against black.

He hadn't heard when she crept up from the bed to stand about five paces behind him. She could now make out more of him; the sharp features, and his calculative stance. His head turned slightly at the sound of her sound breaths, but thankfully didn't turn to see her. She wanted to take a moment to admire him, just to have a moment to do so.

Severus-

He turned, hearing the steady breath of someone behind him. Joon was awake finally, and the moon light shining on her beautiful face made her look as pale as death. She was smiling at him, not with her body, but with her eyes.

He could not contain his relief at her being perfectly fine, and rushed forward, wrapping his arms around her and placing his head on her shoulder, whispering "God, I thought you had died when I found you."

Joon put her good arm around his neck, and kissed him on the cheek.

The sparks were coursing through his neck so profoundly from her skin being on his, that the kiss made that entire side of his face go numb.

He almost didn't hear her say "Thank you for saving me Severus. I don't know how to thank you enough."

In his world, she had just thanked him plenty. He wanted to kiss her for real. She was right there, less than a heartbeat away, but he had to force himself not to. He thought these physical desires had been kicked to the curb! Damn it.

"You don't need to." He replied. "You being alive and well is enough thanks for me. You should go back to bed. Poppy will be all over me if she thinks I woke you up." He ushered her to her white linen bed, and bid her good night before leaving.

Walking down the hall and three flights of stairs to reach his rooms, he thought about how pale she had become that week, matching her sheets. Madam Pomfrey, the school nurse, had healed Joons shoulder blade, and got rid of the bruising around her head after repairing the chipped skull piece and closing the wounds, but she stayed in a coma-like state for six days.

Then while he was in the shower, he thought about when she had hugged him back. When her fingertips met his flesh on the back of his neck, and when her soft, warm lips had pressed against his face… He snapped out of his reminiscing, and looked down, then back up. Why couldn't he control himself lately! It would be embarrassing if THIS happened the next time he happened to let his mind drift…

Joon-

Severus left her sitting on the edge of her bed. She had had a hard time fighting back the urge to kiss him on the mouth instead of the cheek. She hadn't expected anybody to find her any more than she had expected his sudden hug. Pomfrey had woken up in a tizzy because she heard the door shut, but then froze dead in her tracks when she saw Joon sitting upright in her bed, smiling at her. She rushed down the hall in her night gown and robe.

Dumbledore came into the Hospital Wing, and sat next to her. She could feel a formal speech about apologies coming on, so she waited until he opened his mouth to say "Albus, you know good and well not to start that."

He turned his head, looking at her, seeming quite perplexed.

"You are forgiven for whatever fault you believe you have done to me. I'm sore, but I'm perfectly fine," she told him graciously.

He was still looking at her with this sort of perplexed expression, as though what she said was an impossible feat. "My dear, do you know how long you've been out?" by the tone of voice, she guessed it was a lot more than what she had originally thought. Joon shook her head. "You have stayed in the same spot in your bed for the past six days."

"Well, I suppose I've some catching up to do. Poppy can't keep me in here forever." She said, without even a shred of surprise.

Albus smiled at her from behind his half moon spectacles.

"First day on the job, and I almost die. What a way to start the year…" she mumbled.

Dumbledore simply chuckled, patted her on the hand, and left her in the almost empty room, to be fussed over by Madam Pomfrey.

A/N: Please Review/Favorite, all comments (either critisisim or praise) are taken into consideration!

PLEASE tell me if I spelled something wrong or if there's any flaws in grammar and personality of a character!

HELP WANTED: Looking for a Beta!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: School is about to start back, and so, alas, my updates may be farther between than usual, but I shall not give up!

CH: 3 Knowing you, Knowing me

Joon-

On the first day Joon was out of the Hospital Wing, her class bombarded her with questions about Snape. Apparently there had been another person in the hospital wing that night, and word had gotten around with the Gryffindor fourth years that he had mercilessly snogged her. Joon blushed slightly and clearly stated that they had done nothing of the sort, but the giggly fourteen year old girls insisted they had done much more.

Class for the rest of the week was interestingly enough bouncing right into rhythm with what she had partially planned. Monday had been a blur with the awkward conversation, but the week's lesson was all about getting to know yourself. What do you really like? What do you want out of life? How do you channel your creativity? How creative do you think you are personally? In reality, the worksheets were to go in the student's profiles for future reference to see how they progressed over the course of the year, and to give each student some insight as to their inner self.

That Saturday, Joon decided to take a walk around the grounds to do a fake patrol and get accustomed to the landscape of the place as she hadn't had any time to do so yet. The sky had finally opened up from the gloomy clouds that hung over it the previous day, so she dressed casually and strolled up to the front door, ready to finally get some fresh air.

The sun was out, warmth cascading over her bare arms, and some students had crept out of bed early as well to enjoy as much as possible. She took a spot under a beech tree next to the lake, where shade was cool and a slight breeze blew. She watched the giant squid bathe in the shallows of the lake, and the birds as they twittered and played about in the air.

Severus-

He watched her walk down the hall in a pair of worn blue jeans and a light green colored shirt with black sneakers. Joon's slim, curvy figure disappeared up the stairs. She hadn't even noticed him stepping out of his rooms at almost the exact same time as she had.

Wondering what she was up to, he silently crept up the stairs and followed her, switching his position from shadow to shadow, stealthily going unnoticed by the early risers and other professors as he did so.

As Joon took a seat beneath the familiar beech tree, and Severus was entirely positive she wouldn't be moving for a bit, he made a silent trek down to observe her for a moment. She was lying back against the tree apparently enjoying the view there was to be had of the lake and morning sky.

To his surprise, she suddenly turned her head around and craned her neck to look right into his eyes and motion for him to join her. How could she have heard him? He was scarcely breathing, let alone screaming and stomping about!

Joon-

Severus had been standing behind her for a bit, and she wondered at what he was doing. The magical "feelers" she had out unconsciously at all times were reacting to him, and she could literally make out the facial expression and heart rate of his person. Now that she was in a quiet enough of an atmosphere, she could concentrate on that instead of her thoughts.

She hated to be rude, as she had already noticed him, and directed him to join her. When she had turned to see him, the look in his eyes revealed the slightest bit of surprise that she had realized he was back there.

He sat down in the grass and leaned against the tree after casting a cushioning charm.

"What are you doing out here at such an early hour?" she asked him rhetorically as a joke.

"I wanted to talk to you."

This was a surprise. The surly, brooding Potions Master hardly seemed the type to simply strike up general conversation with, well, anybody.

"About what?" she asked nonchalantly, turning her head slightly to look at his profile and give him her full attention.

"I… ah… was just wondering how much of my past Dumbledore told you about…" he asked somewhat warily.

She raised her eyebrows. "He tried to tell me all of it, but I would rather you tell me what you're comfortable with me knowing. The more I know, the better I can determine the best way forward, but it's all up to you."

He openly stared at her. She was serious about him having to reciprocate! Good luck with that!

"How is your head and shoulder?" he asked her, trying to veer the subject of conversation off of him.

"Pretty good. I haven't had any memory glitches and my shoulder is only a bit stiff," she told him optimistically. "Thanks, again, for saving my life. Don't know what would have happened if you hadn't rescued me." She smiled at him genuinely.

Severus leaned his head forward slightly and allowed his curtain-like hair to fall forward, covering his face from her view. Even through that, she could still make out the tell-tale sign of a blush.

"Severus, are you not used to having praise?" she asked him out of the blue. She felt that this was important.

His head snapped back up at her and the blush was gone, his eyebrows drawn together and his eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Why would you need to know?" he nearly snapped at her, and then looked like he regretted it.

Sighing, he replied "No."

"Do you feel that you deserve praise? For anything?"

He grew angry in a pinch. "Yes! I do!" he told her loudly, causing her to reflexively put up a privacy shield for sound.

"I was a spy for the Order of the Phoenix against the Dark Lord, and I got little to no recognition for it! I helped to save lives nearly every time I went into that ring, all the while rubbing elbows with an excruciatingly painful death, and the courts still wanted me dead! Everybody hated me, and many still do!" he jumped up and began to pace as he ranted. "I'm not even positive ruddy Dumbledore ever once told me he appreciated what I had done!"

"Have you ever asked these people for any sort of recognition? Have you told them what you've done for them?" she wondered aloud.

He slowed down his pace and replied "I can't be open with the public about my double agent status because Dumbledore believes the Dark Lord may rise yet again and I'll be called for spying yet again. Dumbledore, on the other hand," he continued, seeming to revert back to the faster pacing and rant a bit louder, "HE has used me like a gray colored pawn on a chess board! I'm nothing more than a simple piece in his twisted game of war and redemption! And through all of the stress and pain, he's never once thanked me!" he finally flopped down onto the soft ground, exhausted of his anger.

"I can relate," Joon began quietly, trying to appease him. "I've been the head of the Psychology department that conjoins the Ministry and St. Mungos Hospital for three years now, and even at the top of my field, I've been depreciated to a common broom and cast aside to work here so that an older man could take my place. The Minister himself would ignore me at meetings. Nobody at St. Mungos ever thanked me for correcting a fatally wrong diagnosis, or taking one of their shifts to help give treatment to a patient. I was highly underappreciated and I could never figure out why…" she told him sadly. "Your situation can be remedied to a point, at the least. You've saved lives through your work, and you do deserve what praise you can receive in your current position."

Severus-

Joon, although he couldn't believe it, was also severely underappreciated. He had seen the way she had handled a few of his Slytherin first years that were having problems adjusting to life in the castle with their new housemates. She was sensational with children, able to help them make sense of odd feelings and cope with losses. Things he'd never excelled at himself.

"But, Severus, I will look into this for you later in the week. I need some time to formulate a way to subtly extract the reasoning as to why these things have been happening to you."

Joon promptly got up and began to walk off, muttering to herself as she went, apparently already forming the right way to solve his distress. As soon as she had gotten a few dozen paces away, he could no longer hear her.

So she had allowed him privacy during his ranting? That was certainly upholding her word about discretion. And she was doing something personally to alleviate his stress? Definitely not a normal path for any psychiatrist he had ever heard of. Shouldn't he be trying to open up people himself? Get them to have a heart to heart? But no, she had gone off immediately and began to try and do everything in her power to help. And to help HIM of all people! He deserved no help! She would surely see how wasted her skills were in the end. But, Severus was certainly not going to complain about a beautiful woman going out of her way to do _anything_ for him. No sir, _indeed_.

Joon-

Inside of Joons office, the professor paced much as Severus had done not a few hours before. She had now donned more professional clothing than her earlier garb. A soft pink silky top, earth brown slacks, and a grass green robe she had left open to allow the breeze from her window to cool her off. The fire in the hearth was going to glow green any moment, and she was determined not to get caught off guard this time!

The room itself was quite cozy. A book shelf dominated the two longest walls, spotted with books and folders alike. Here and there were a few drawings and gifts that her patients had given her on holidays and birthdays of the past.

The floor had a beautiful old careworn rug with a dark blue and light green Celtic design. The furniture consisted of a large dark blue sofa that could seat four and double as a decent sleeping space, and two dark blue high backed wingchairs, all of which had light green accent pillows with Celtic designs as well.

Her desk, which had been made of finely crafted solid oak, had wonderful designs all over it of elves and centaurs and kneazels and witches and wizards and goblins and giants and a unicorn. The top of said desk had stacks of papers in two shallow boxes for 'in' and 'out' piles of paperwork, a few books, and a small photograph of Joon and her mother, whom she looked nothing like.

The orange flames leaped up an emerald green and Joons old co-worker and current vice head of the Department of Psychology at the Ministry of Magic, Grant Grandstone stepped over the threshold. He was a thinly cut man, with a meek face and a kind expression.

"Hello, Miss Joon!" he greeted her warmly, always polite and endearing to meet.

"Good morning, Mr. Grandstone! Please take a seat, and tell me what business you have for me today."

"Oh, now young lady, you know very well that I don't just come for visits of business," the older man replied, "but today, they've just passed a requirement under the law that sent you here."

Mr. Gradstone handed Joon a rather large roll of parchment with a ministry ribbon around it. Seeming to want to leave as soon as possible, he bid her good day and scrambled back into the fire.

Sitting down, Joon undid the ribbon and began to read the parchment, which ended up being more than fifteen feet in length. Thankfully, there were lots of pictures and large writing, or Joon would have been bored to tears on the first paragraph.

Severus-

Just before lunch, a meeting was called in Dumbledore's office.

Everybody took seats around the large table that was always set up for meetings, and Severus was left to take the last seat between Joon and Dumbledore. Wonderful.

"I'm sure you're all wondering why I've called you here. Joon, if you will?" Dumbledore said.

Joon stood up and unrolled a big roll of parchment, and for a terrible moment, Severus feared he'd miss lunch for her having to read the blasted thing.

"I was given this today by the ministry. I'll spare you the waffle, and get down to the main point which was so conveniently put in the last dozen sentences. I am now responsible for the psychological integrity of this school and you all. Therefore, I will be in charge of morale-lifting events like dances and races and even Quidditch. I will also be required to do a yearly psychological evaluation on each of you including the headmaster, and by extension all of you need to do a yearly questionnaire provided by the ministry on me. Cooperation is mandatory. Sorry for the inconvenience," she told them all kindly, sitting down to signal the end of the announcement.

"As it is quite hard to have all of our teachers out of the classroom over the span of a week, you are all required to find a decent date during one of your free periods or in the evening and schedule a convenient time to speak with Joon within the month. The sheet will be in the teacher's lounge. Good day," Dumbledore finished, and got up to leave for lunch.

Severus was a bit shell shocked. In charge of their psychological integrity? That was a load of tosh if he'd ever heard it. But, for the sake of punctuality, Severus was in line to sign up early behind Flitwick and Dumbledore before he went to lunch just so he wouldn't have to fool with it any other time.

As soon as he'd filled out the empty slot, there was a dialogue that popped up that said "_Thank you! That time will be perfect!_"

Perfect, _indeed_.


	4. Chapter 4

CH 4: Interview with a Potions Master

Joon-

Joon went to bed that night dreading having to meet with the other professors the following two weeks. What were they going to talk about? Would Severus get angry with her if she put something about his anger issues? What if the other teachers laughed at her questions and made her out to be inferior? Magic Bananas

She tossed and turned all night dreaming about it.

In the morning, she stared apprehensively at her magical alarm clock. It passed seven, and she wondered if it was broken, but nearly jumped out of her skin when it rang seven seconds past the hour. She'd need to fix that later.

Dressing meticulously, she finally strapped on her knee high black boots and went out the door. Today was her first evaluation. With Professor Severus Snape.

Making her way to the Headmasters office, Joon took a steadying breath and said the password to enter.

She absently noticed the scarcely filled hourglasses of the four houses on a table as she ascended the muggle-escalator-analogous staircase and knocked on the door.

"Why Joon, what a pleasant surprise! Please, do come in!"Dumbledore said, opening the door for her himself.

She walked over and sat in the chair across from his desk and told him in a soft yet business like tone: "We need to talk."

Severus-

Jerking up out of the cover of his warm bed, Severus was drenched in sweat.

He had a dream about Joon.

She had showed up at the interview in quite the showy little green lacy set of undergarments. Her beautiful face had an ethereal light about it, and her sexy grin (although slightly out of character) drove all reason out of his brain. Even being the highly controlled man he was, he had been helpless against her sirens call, and found himself hoisting her up on his desk. He had, to his slight disappointment, been interrupted by the sound of someone attempting to use the warded floo before the first kiss was had.

This particular dream was a wakeup call to the intensity of his attraction to her. He understood it all now. The weird way he had felt the last few times he'd looked at her, or how he simply couldn't get over the feel of her arms around him, or the devastation he had felt when he found her bleeding all over the floor. It wasn't just lust he was dealing with.

Looking over at the floo as it flared up again, he decided it might be a good time to get his night robe on and see who it was.

As soon as the wards were lifted, Dumbledore stepped into the cool dungeons.

"Good morning my boy, how are you!" he said merrily and sat down in a chair near the bed he had just conjured.

Dumbledore was too damn cheery for this early in the morning.

"Tired. You just woke me up, old man," Severus replied, taking the endearment and turning it on him. "What do you want?"

Albus took it down a notch. He seemed a bit… on edge. He looked nervous, and he was giving Severus an odd look. This was strange, and it made Severus wary of the older man as he sat up straighter in bed.

"Tell me, is there anything you'd like to talk about?" Albus pressed nervously.

Realizing what he was on about, Severus had to ask "What did Joon do?"

"She is either very passionate about helping others, or she cares deeply about you," Albus told him significantly, "Because she gave me a thrashing. I would have preferred her to be yelling at me and throwing things, to the way she told me what I haven't done. And I… I don't believe I know where to begin to say how truly sorry I am that I haven't thanked you properly for everything you've done."

To say Severus was stunned would be an understatement. But apparently that wasn't all Dumbledore had to say on the matter.

Joon-

Arriving in the great hall wearing a pair of tight-ish black pants, a pair of nearly knee high strapped black boots, a silky green top, and a classily cut hooded black ankle length coat that doubled as a robe, Joon took her seat with the Ravenclaws.

Snape came in not long afterwards behind a few students and stopped behind Joon.

She turned around a bit warily, smiling at him lightly.

"Thank you," Snape told her sincerely, never losing his perpetually apathetic demeanor, and swept off to the high table.

The Ravenclaws around Joon began to whisper loudly until she turned around properly in her seat and shrugged at their inquiring expressions.

Severus-

After Dumbledore's big apology and a nice lunch, Severus actually felt a bit better than usual as he stalked down the hall towards her office. When he was allowed to enter, he had expected her to be behind her desk like the other Professors usually were, but no. She was lying on her stomach on the sofa, propped up on elbows, reading a book, feet up in the air, while wearing a pair of black jeans that certainly showed off the nice curve of her bum and hips.

She put a place marker where she was in the tome, and stood up to his displeasure, although he got a nice glimpse of her black lingerie as she put her silky green shirt to rights.

"Hi, Severus, why not just take a seat so we can get started?" she asked him kindly.

He truly hoped he wasn't blushing as he sat in one of the comfortable armchairs and looked her in the eye to show she had his full attention to find she was doing the same.

"How are you today?" she asked nonchalantly, making herself comfortable on the couch.

"Fine. Dumbledore's apology went well."

"Thats wonderful! Would you like some tea?" she asked him, placing her book on the coffee table.

"Please," he replied, settling back into his comfortable chair. An elf he didn't recognize popped in with a tea service and served them both.

"Now, let's be open about you. Do you like to teach?" she asked him, taking a luxuriously long sip of her tea, and he could have sworn he heard the quietest moan and then a sigh afterwards.

"I enjoy teaching those few who actually care to write decent essays and pay attention in class. The rest are usually dunderheads who don't need the class for their future career and drop it anyways," He told her frankly, trying to hide the fact that he was entirely too interested in the way she swiped her tongue across her upper lip to get the tea off of it.

She smiled at him sweetly and laughed, her eyes filling with mirth. After fully hearing this sound, he decided he liked it. Just like everything else about her.

Joon-

Severus was paying way too much attention to her as she talked to him, and she caught the barest flicker of his eyes when she unconsciously licked her lips to clear them of tea. This made her feel a bit vulnerable, seeing as how he was not only half a head taller than she, but also a decent bit broader in the shoulders. Not to mention the fact that even just sitting in a chair he emanated power. Using her magical sensory, she determined he was borderline "Dumbledore" in power levels and his physical aptitude was quite pleasing.

She hid her nervousness well as she laughed at the way he made generalizations about the lesser population of the school. Yes, some of them were quite daft she would admit.

His almost smile and sudden slight shyness made her unease disappear.

"What kinds of advances in Potions, if any have been made, have you incorporated into your lesson plans?"

Severus-

The interview was actually not as bad as Severus imagined (or dreamed) it to be. Joon was casual in her behavior and entirely professional with her question subjects and demeanor.

Of course, Severus was guilty of the dozen or so times he had snuck a glance at her chest when she had her attention diverted elsewhere, but other than being male to the core, he was also as professional as he could be with his answers.

Since that morning he had absolutely no idea as to what he was going to do about his attraction to his admittedly stunning colleague. Not to mention the awkwardness of her being his own personal shrink. He shuddered to think of the implications of that.

He had at one point been in love with another, and therefore knew that these were not just passing feelings of lust towards an attractive female. Oh no. He was never so lucky.

His traitorous heart had the audacity to fall for her body, her mind, and her personality to boot! Damn.

Descending the stairs to his lab, he began to formulate how he would go about uncovering the possibility of her returning his... feelings. She probably didn't. But it would kill him more never to know if Joon's feelings were only platonic when concerning him.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Warning: This chapter is a bit heavy when concerning Joon and Severus' relationship but no true smut involved. Reader discretion is advised.

I know I haven't been able to update as fast as most would like, but I've been juggling my school work like a madwoman, and I have a pretty sucky sinus infection. Ugh.

But, here you are, next chapter should be up in a week or so : )

JG~SS~JG~SS~JG~SS~JG~SS~JG~SS~JG~SS~JG~SS~JG~SS~JG~SS~JG~SS~JG

CH:5 Kiss Me

Severus-

A Friday in Mid October dawned crisp and cool in the dungeons as Severus made his way to breakfast walking next to Joon. They had taken to doing so because it was much easier to deal with than what had happened three weeks prior.

Severus had been tiredly making his way to the stairs that lead out of the dungeons when a sleepy Joon tripped on her door frame as she exited her own rooms and crashed unceremoniously into him.

This landed both of them in the awkward position on the floor.

That consisted of Joon lying face down in Severus' black-garbed chest, apologizing profusely while attempting to set both of them to rights. This only made it worse because they fell again, this time Severus catching himself harshly on his hands on the cold flagstone just before landing on her.

They were literally nose to nose and blushing like it was nobody's business.

So the situation had been wordlessly taken as a complete accident on both parts, and they had simply exited their rooms at seven seventeen to walk to breakfast together.

Over the course of the previous weeks, Severus had introduced Joon to his entire past, hoping she wouldn't laugh at him for his follies, but found out something more.

Joon had, once again, been able to relate to him easily. She too had been abused by a parent as a child, suffered at the hands of bullies, and was the smartest mind in all of her classes that didn't involve flying.

Joon had obviously wept after he told her about... about Lily. What he did to her. What she did to him. What he had done to protect her, and everything in between.

The only way he knew was Minerva had confronted him about what he had done to Joon to make her burst into the older woman's office late that evening, and cry for a solid hour.

Severus thought it considerate of Joon to spare him, especially because he wouldn't have been able to handle a crying woman in the state he had been in after reliving his every nightmare (or in any state for that matter).

They had come to a cordial understanding at that point, and Severus was glad for it.

Joon-

Although it was cool, Joon loved the temperature in the dungeons. She never had to worry about being too warm at night (something she loathed), and it reminded her of the constant chill of staying with her Aunt Anna, who had always kept the temperature cool in her house because she was so prone to heat flashes.

She was glad (both as a psychologist and a woman in love) that she and Severus had covered so much ground in the time since they had met. He knew almost everything about her past, and she knew everything about his that he as letting on.

Their personal relationship flourished to something a little less shy and awkward than it had been in the beginning.

Severus had finally opened up enough to smile at her in private, which consisted of the several times they found themselves alone in the teachers' lounge and in each-others' rooms or offices. These special moments were usually spent reading, talking, or in a comfortable silence.

Conversations became more and more personal, the subjects ranging from what they did that day, to their common interests in philosophy and books.

At breakfast in the Great Hall, Minerva was eyeing Severus oddly, and when she realized Joon had caught her, she turned and began a conversation with a startled Dumbledore.

"Since we both have chaperoning duties for Hogsmeade tomorrow, what's our plan of action?" She asked Severus politely.

Severus-

_Did Joon just ask me out on a date?_ Severus thought loudly.

"I suppose we should stick together. You never know what could happen with a bunch of rowdy teenagers with wands," he told her mildly, hiding his surprise.

Dumbledore stood up without delay and made the morning announcements.

"All of you are aware that All Hallows Eve will be very soon, and there will be a party held all day that day, all years invited. Teacher participation is mandatory. To enter this party, you must have a costume on. Tomorrow we will all be going to Hogsmeade, and there is a temporary Costume shop set up in town. I would like to make sure all of you remember that dress should be school appropriate," his eyes traveled warningly to the pod of Slytherin girls who were all grinning like foxes, "no real weapons, and no one is allowed to wear the same costume. A universal sheet will be in all of your houses, I advise you to sign up before you get your costume. Have a wonderful day!"

Severus was dumbstruck. Mandatory participation? He looked at Joon with the barest amount of scorn.

She looked as surprised as he felt. "What? Don't look at me like that; I only suggested the idea on the fifth! I never expected him to run with it!"

Walking down the stairs alone (Joon had stayed behind to speak with the headmaster), Severus got the distinct impression that someone was following him. He turned, to find Minerva staring him down from three steps up.

"Severus. What are your plans concerning Juniper?" she asked in a no-nonsense tone, sharpening her glare.

Severus stared at her openly. "Excuse me?"

McGonagall leaned forward menacingly. "If you hurt that girl, so help me-"

"Calm down woman, I assure you I haven't the slightest clue as to what you're implying," he told her quickly, making her harrumph in a very unladylike manner and stomp back up the steps.

Throughout the day Severus couldn't get Joon or what McGonagall said out of his head, making him a bit more distracted than usual in class.

He was going to Hogsmeade. With Joon. A beautiful, sweet, smart, powerful sorceress. What was he getting himself into! She didn't deserve him! He rubbed his head to get rid of the growing anxiety within, but to no avail.

During his free period, he almost jumped out of his chair when the subject of his intense thought knocked on his door. He opened it and allowed her in.

Joon-

She brushed past, barely suppressing a shiver as her shoulder touched his warm chest.

"I'm sorry, I talked to Albus about the mandatory attendance thing, but he wouldn't budge! I guess we'll just have to deal with it. And, hey, why not have a little fun with it? Huh?"

He looked at her a bit oddly.

"What's the matter, Severus? You seem tense." Joon asked with concern.

He shook his head to clear it of whatever thought had been plaguing him, and replied: "I suppose we'll have to. What did you have in mind?"

Severus-

Saturday morning was cool, but refreshing. The children all lined up to be prodded by Filch before going merrily down to Hogsmeade and right to the Costume Booth. A man in a very nice suit sized you up, took out his wand, and made the costume into a bag to keep it hidden from view. And at a decent price, too.

Severus walked beside Joon, showing her around all of the shops, the owlery, and basically everywhere else (Except, of course, Madame Malkin's Tea Parlor. He would hate to give her the wrong impression.).

They went inside the Three Broomsticks, and sat down with a pair of butter-beers.

"How is everything going with your classes?" He asked her tentatively.

"I'm glad you asked! We've just started into mural drawings," she told him happily, her beautiful light violet eyes glowing with a happy light he had only seen when someone was really passionate about what they taught.

She continued to give him a decent overview about the course, and he picked up on the underlying subliminal messages of being a good moral person. She also seemed to have a fierce protective nature (at least when concerning the students)

As he began to think about the act of having a conversation with the woman, he realized she rarely talked to any of the other Professors about any non-professional topics. So why would there be call to talk to him about these things?

Was it because he was closest to her in age? No, his looks could drive a pair of Dementors in the opposite direction...

Was it some organized prank being played by the whole staff just to spite him? They didn't hate him that much... He didn't think. Hm.

Did she want his non-existent Prince family fortune? They didn't recognize his blood relation.

Ooh! Maybe she was just trying to weed her way into his pa- Whoa there. Now he was just being paranoid. Damn spy instincts...

Maybe she did like him back...

Joon-

"So how's everything going with your classes?" She asked Severus inquiringly, grinning knowingly at his dramatic sigh of displeasure.

"If the dunderheads could appreciate it," he began sarcastically, "my seventh year class is beginning the study of the potion Felix Felicis."

Joon remembered her old term paper she had done on the theory behind Liquid Luck, and was able to relate to and understand what he was talking about. When Severus started talking about Potions, Joon noted, he became much more animated than usual, and his deep obsidian eyes lit up in a way that told her he was really passionate about what he taught.

He continued to give her a fairly intelligent account of his knowledge on the subject, checking every so often to see if she followed what he was saying.

She suddenly had a eureka moment, and understood why he taught like he did, expecting no less than the best. It was just like all of her bosses had treated her in the past. There really was no room for mistakes, even in Psychiatry. You couldn't screw up a diagnosis on a case of depression, or say the wrong things to a Schizophrenic. It didn't work that way.

When she began to think about the fact that they carried on these types of conversations all the time with varying subject matter, she realized that he rarely talked to any of the other Professors about any non-professional topics.

She had observed him being entirely honest and open with her on several occasions before (or he was able to control the rate his heart beat when he was plainly too distracted by talking) so she was sure he wasn't up to anything dubious.

And he did seem genuinely interested in staying... Er, (did "friends" describe it?) with her.

Maybe he did like her back...

As they walked around the town a bit more, Joon suddenly got the impression that they were being followed (6'3", holding a wand in his pocket, erratic heartbeat). The man continued to tail them for two minutes, and she could feel Severus tensing up. He turned his head slightly to look at her in the corner of his eye, and she did the same, nodding. They sped up and took an abrupt turn through a gaggle of people outside the owlery and through to an alleyway and around the corner to the back of the building.

Severus had his wand out and held it at the ready, peering around the corner to see if the perpetrator would follow them further. Joon couldn't see what he saw because he had an arm around her stomach keeping them both against the cool brick wall. Thankfully he wasn't looking at her or he would have seen the hot blush creeping up her neck to fill her cheeks.

Severus-

Someone broke free of the hoard of Students and started down the alleyway, their hood up and wand drawn.

Severus swiftly drew back from the corner before he could be distinguished from the black painted brick, and put his arms on either side of Joon's waist, wordlessly casting a disillusionment charm and keeping close to her. He turned his head to rest his cheek against her forehead so he could observe the man coming around the bend.

He sniffed the air, looking around in a careless manner that could never detect the slight movement of the wall that gave their hiding spot away, and turned back. As soon as Severus was sure the man was gone, he turned back to Joon and canceled the concealment charm.

Their eyes locked.

He realized just how close they were.

Her wonderful scent (a mix of several compounds he was sure were original to her own personal aroma) overpowered his Potions Master's scent capabilities.

Her beautiful purple eyes were almost as black as his as the realization dawned on her at their proximity, her pupils growing and focusing entirely on his own pools of crude oil. He could almost make out his reflection in them.

The warmth of her smaller, entirely feminine body brushed his chest, and her lips, promising softness, were an inviting cherry red. He nearly lost control of his self when her dark pink tongue swiped across them.

She seemed to get closer, or was he the one moving? He couldn't tell.

Joon-Severus

She couldn't breathe, she couldn't think. She only knew what she wanted. Heat pooled in her belly as she leaned her head forward ever so slightly and whispered the words.

Slowly. Gently. Allowing her mouth to form the words and enunciate the few syllables, leaving her lips slightly parted with the last word.

"Kiss me."

And thankfully he did, because she certainly couldn't have waited any longer without passing out completely.

The world seemed to slow down entirely. All of her magical sensory capabilities were concentrated solely on him, but she wouldn't have noticed. Because every part of her body that touched his was on fire.

His surprisingly soft lips moved against hers, and the feeling was mind blowing. Their tongues danced together, tasting and teasing. Electricity and elation coursed through her veins, making her feel extremely and inexplicably alive. Her arms were wrapped around his neck, pressing herself flush against him, with his arms in a near death grip around her small waist.

They moved slightly and were just as suddenly pressed up against the wall, locked in a heated embrace, certainly not about to let go of each other.

She instinctively put a leg around his waist, and one of his hands reached down to caress her inner thigh, making her moan out his name. He could barely resist hoisting her up fully on his hips, rocking against her to hear the music of his real given name cascade from her lips as he made his assault on in her senses, suckling on her neck and lips.

Severus-

He stopped as the realization of what he was doing hit him as his hand made contact with the underside of her brazier whilst his other one squeeze her bum. Severus gently let her down, backing away to stare openly at her flushed, confused face, her ragged breathing, her swollen, almost bruised looking lips, her disheveled hair and clothes, and finally her now totally black, out of focus eyes that stayed on him the whole time.

Reality, like always, was a smack in the face for him. The mark on his arm was a constant reminder. If he was going to have her for any period of time, he knew better than to believe that he could let her go. Not now. And what of their future, if there was to be one? Could she stand to be around him? Bed him, even, when the ugly reminder of his past choices and his only foreseeable future was staring both of them in the face? He sighed in defeat.

"What's the matter?" She asked him breathlessly, supporting herself on the wall behind her, knees about to give way.

"I shouldn't have done that. It was uncalled for."

At her almost hurt expression, he moved closer to her, twining his long nimble fingers with her soft, dark brown hair.

"Believe me. I want you," he told her, pressing his forehead against hers, "but can you let yourself want me?"

Her eyebrows drew together slightly, her pupils downsizing slightly. "What do you mean? I know your past."

"But do you realize my future?" He asked her. "Dumbledore believes that the Dark Lord may come back again. And my spying duties will resume indefinitely," he unbuttoned the sleeve of his coat and crisp white undershirt to pull them up and reveal the faded gray serpent coiled around the skull. "Could you live with it? Knowing the things I've done in the past. What I will inevitably have to do in the future? It's not exactly something you can just ignore," he told her in a soft whisper.

Joon-

She began to cry. He was being so open with her! He was showing her that he really cared about them! He was looking into the possibilities of a future! With her, no less.

Her final secret. Only a literal hand full of people knew it, including her, Dumbledore, and an ancient man sworn into secrecy at the British Ministry of Magic Birth Registration Office.

He deserved to know. She truly did want to be with him, but he couldn't be in the dark about her families past. About the blood in her veins. About the reason why she hated her biological father to the very core of his existence for what he had done to her sweet, young, innocent mother. Even if it did bring her about into being.

Severus-

"I have a secret from the world, and you may run from me in hate when you know it. You deserve to know. You need to."

He held its breath. How could she have such a secret? He could never hate her. How could anyone? Her eyes had gone back to normal, and her face paled considerably. She began to shake, almost sobbing.

"I can certainly live with this," she held his arm gently, "If you could stand to even look at me, and know," she held her breath, closed her eyes, tears streaming down her sweet face. She seemed to brace herself for his reaction, clenching into herself.

"That I am the bastard child of the man that gave you this mark."

Oh.

JG~SS~JG~SS~JG~SS~JG~SS~JG~SS~JG~SS~JG~SS~JG~SS~JG~SS~JG~SS~JG

A/N: OOOOOOH! CLIFFHANGER! (Insert Deranged psychotic laugh) Ahem. Yeah.

Will Severus turn away from his newfound love out of disgust at her lineage, sticking with the old Death Eater propaganda that Blood is more important than Substance? Or will he put it all aside and allow his heart to guide him?

Stay tuned and find out in the next chapter!

I have gotten a slew of new followers to this story, and I'd love for all of you to comment! I need feedback! Give me opinions, encouragement, bash me all you want! Just don't leave me hanging here! : )


	6. Chapter 6

A/N:MUAHAHAHAHAHHAAAA! I'm so nice, leaving you all for four days without an answer to your questions 8D

The second and third paragraphs should suffice.

hehe I only waited this long for this update because there were a few pieces I wasn't too sure about putting in this chapter to make it flow better into the next chapter (Which I have already written half of)

So, here you go! What you've been waiting for.

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CH: 6 The Weeping Angel, Daughter of Death, Child Protector, Seductress, Niece

The words that came out of Joon's mouth were quite nearly unbelievable. But, unfortunately for Severus, he knew of a few rumors traveling around the ranks of the Dark Lord's... hobby. His concubines.

He would have fled in disgust, just like she thought he might, but Joon's countenance truly appealed to what was left of his better nature.

She was trembling, pale, crying her eyes out, having trouble controlling her weak sobbing. She was the reflection of him as a child, when his father beat him or his mother. And so he took pity on her. He had no idea he could do it, or that he even knew how, but he began to comfort her crying form.

He took her in his arms, and she, surprised as he but glad, took his kind offer and buried her head in the front of his robes, clinging to him for dear life as the pain wracked her small, fragile body.

Joon's knees were shaking so bad, she could no longer hold herself up, and so Severus swept her off her feet into his arms and sat down against the wall, cradling her against his chest.

He took out the monogrammed handkerchief (usually reserved for weepy first years) and wiped her face with it, getting her hair out of her face and consoling her with kisses to her cheek and forehead. Bah! He was getting too soft! But, he realized, he could refuse her nothing.

After she had calmed down past the hiccup phase of the sobs, she began to tell him the horrible, sad story.

"My wonderful, sweet mother," she whispered, "Innocent as could be. A half blood, unfortunately for her. He sent out several of his less... clean followers of the time to fetch young women for his... use," she spat the word softly. "The Order Of the Phoenix was barely operational at the time, but they raided the warehouse where the girls were kept, and my mother was one of the freed ones. And the most unlucky of that batch. She ran to her home, in the States, to find out she had been impregnated with the seed of that monster. But she couldn't get rid of it. Didn't have the heart to kill the innocent, you understand," she smiled dryly.

"So she was kept by my aunt Adrianna, who helped her through the hardest of times of the pregnancy. And she convinced my step father to marry her for my sake. She loved me, even though I was conceived in that terrible place by HIM."

He understood, although not at first. It wasn't her fault that she had been born. The blame shouldn't be on her shoulders. And she understood this. So did he.

She had devoted her life's work to helping others. She healed their madness, where her father before her created it. And she had love. For him. That made a world of difference.

"Those terms seem adequate."

"What?" she asked him confusedly.

"I can certainly live with that. It's not your fault. And you can live with something I did that was mine. It's the least I can do for you."

Joon-

He understood?

Her mind reeled.

She took the handkerchief from his hand and finished wiping her face of the tears that flowed no more. In her position in his comfortable lap, she could appreciate his handsome features fully.

"Oh, Severus," she said passionately, hugging him around the neck, startling him proficiently. "Thank you so much!"

He blushed awkwardly and coughed.

"Ah, yes. Well, we should probably be rounding up the children and heading back to the castle, don't you think?" He helped her up and began walking.

She giggled sweetly.

"Oh! You go on ahead, I need to get the costumes, and then I'll catch up."

Severus-

Joon did, as was her word, get the costumes and join him. But she wasn't alone.

Unconscious, broken nose, bound, and properly gagged with his own sock, the man who had been following them earlier was floating along behind her as she nonchalantly joined his pace and began calling all of the stragglers out of the shops and parlors. She was certainly something.

After the last little bugger was on their merry way to the castle, Joon sent her silvery patronus (a young, muscular jaguar) to Dumbledore and Minerva to come and take him off her hands.

After the hand-off, Joon and Severus went back up to the castle, with some time to spare before dinner.

They went down to Severus' rooms and made themselves comfortable on the couch, Joon's head in his lap as he stroked her hair.

"So, what happens now that we know we can stand to live with each other?" She asked him, the firelight from the hearth reflecting in her beautiful, heated eyes, her slight breathing coming from parted soft lips.

She sat up, turning to look at him while standing on her hands and knees on the couch. He could just barely glimpse cleavage from the modest V of her shirt, but that was nothing compared to the lopsided grin she was giving him as she leaned in closer.

Severus-

The fire flared green and Joon sat down with an annoyed huff, still turned towards Severus, her head snapped to attention as Dumbledore stepped through the un-warded fire.

"Oh! Juniper, I hadn't expected to find you here!" he smiled, as though pleasantly surprised, but Severus could tell by the twinkle in his eye that he knew better. Barmy old coot...

"I'm glad you're together, I need to discuss your costumes for the Halloween festivities," that was right, he had nearly forgotten. Joon's witty idea had repulsed him at first, but now he didn't mind it much. He did get to wear a mask, after all.

"The staff has caught wind of your plan, and... well most of us are not so creative. We want in on the group. All of us."

Joon grinned and said, "I can write theodore for the rest of the set ours came from and I'm sure we can find places for all of you!"

As Dumbledore went back to his office through the floo, Joon kissed Severus on the cheek and got her boots and coat on.

Severus stared at her perfect skin, her pretty eyes, her soft luscious hair...

"I hope you know how beautiful you are."

She smiled at him sincerely (neck and cheeks bright flaming red) and walked out of the door, putting a little extra sway to her hips because somehow she knew he was watching.

As soon as the door swung closed, he dashed off to take a cold shower before having to face the rest of the world.

Joon made him have feelings he wasn't used to, and really, although he would probably never admit it to her, he had never really done anything with a woman, but his instincts and knowledge on the subject were certainly adequate enough to compensate... he hoped.

Joon-

Severus.

His name ran through her mind fifty paces a minute.

Despite her misgivings on the subject, she had wanted to know what the whole rest of the world was on about with the whole "relationship" thing. So Joon had dated at least a dozen fairly decent men in her six years as a legal consenting adult, and only really slept with two of them, and that was just because the first time she was a bit tipsy, and the other time was just her being needy and lonely.

Therefore, she had little to no experience in the sex department, except a teensy bit of foreplay and what everything did, looked like, and what was supposed to go where. But that was it.

The way Severus stimulated her made him look like a veteran, but she could kind of tell he wasn't as experienced as his actions let on from some of their conversations.

She really had wanted to, even though the setting may not have been what she would have hoped for in the beginning, but had there been no time to stop and think, she would have dove into the act as though the world could end at any moment.

Otherwise she was afraid he would get the idea that their relationship was all about sex. Because that was nice, but she was tired of being in a relationship with a man, and not feeling all of the love they professed to feel towards her.

That was what different about Severus. She really was in love with him.

The phrase "love at first sight" was so cliché she could write a book about it, but she would certainly admit the first time she ever made eye-contact with him, she felt the cocoons in her stomach burst into butterflies and flutter madly, her heart made a hard rhythm like an African drum in a Phil Collins song, and she had to dart to the side in the crowd of people in Diagon Alley to hide her intense blush.

She cleaned up, brushing her hair and teeth, before walking up to her office alone to check her desk for any letters she may have gotten.

To her surprise, there were about a dozen owls sitting around her office, all of their heads turning towards her (some turning completely backwards) as a chorus of hoots rang out. Some of them had things in their talons, some in their beaks, and several with notes tied around their legs.

After getting them all, and replying to the few she needed to, she looked at the only true letter she had received in a week.

It was from Aunt Adrianna.

Joon's face paled as she read it twice.

_Dearest Juniper,_

_I am so delighted that you have found a handsome young man to suit your purpose, you must tell me more about him! _

_I haven't had the chance to congratulate you on your new job as a counselor in England, and at such a well known school too! I hope you have a wonderful weekend._

_I wish I could write more to you, but my old muggle oven has nearly caught the house on fire again and I must be cleaning it up._

_Love,_

_Your dearest Aunt Anna_

_P.S. I've corresponded with your employer, Professor Dumbledore (charming man, you should have told me about him before dear) and I will be coming to visit you next Saturday at six o'clock post meridian. He has assured me i will have proper rooming near yours in the castle, and I may stay as long as I like. See you then! Kisses!_

She would have to tell Severus. As soon as possible. And prepare him.

JG~SS~JG~SS~JG~SS~JG~SS~JG~SS~JG~SS~JG~SS~JG~SS~JG~SS~JG~SS~JG

A/N: You should be prepared to wait at most another week, but it may turn out to be just four days like the last one.

I don't know why, but it fills me with an (admittedly crazed) happiness to know I hold your desires in my hands, for me to crush. ;)

I had such a good time allowing all of you to hang on edge of your metaphorical seats while I was simply biding my time. Nice, aren't I?

Keep commenting, try and guess the group costume idea I have (answer is in my profile, and the hints will help).

Thanks again for all of my followers, even the several guests that have been lurking, reading around. I used to be one of those, but then I got an account and I have been able to save my favorite stories and follow a few, and now look at me! I'm writing! Don't be afraid to!

~Alikuma~


	7. Chapter 7

A/N:Hey! Look!-Navi

Warnings for intense sensuality, but no true smut.

I will share a few songs and fun facts with every few chapters that I can think of one or two to go with.

So-

Funfact 1: I got Joon's name from the movie Benny & Joon, starring Johnny Depp (my aunt is a fanatic, I am simply a fan).

JG~SS~JG~SS~JG~SS~JG~SS~JG~SS~JG~SS~JG~SS~JG~SS~JG~SS~JG~SS~JG

CH: 7 Rumors, Dates, and hey, Auntie's Coming to Town!

Severus-

Dinner was some brown slice of cooked meat, a white pile of mush, and something else he supposed could be called green, but he wasn't paying attention to what Albus told him was part of a "nutritious diet" that was currently traveling into his mouth and down is throat. Joon was late showing up for dinner. She was rarely late. And the last time she was late, she had nearly died!

His inner turmoil subsided as the beautiful woman in question came into the hall and took her seat next to him.

The meatloaf began to get some flavor, the mashed potatoes were more buttery, and the asparagus less pungent than it had been as she turned to him and smiled sweetly, seeming to have something on her mind.

About half way through dinner, she finally spoke up.

"Severus, do you remember the few times I've mentioned my Aunt Adrianna?"

"Yes," he did. She spoke fondly of her at least once a week, which was as often as was their correspondence my owl mail.

"Ah, she's coming to the castle. To see my new job. And, ah, to, ah, meet... you."

"What could be so bad about that?" He asked her mildly. This Adrianna sounded like a slightly aged woman who lived alone. How bad could she be?

"You don't understand, Severus, she's like a female Dumbledore!"

Oh. That changed things.

"She's very eccentric. She dresses in fine silk robes of all sorts of colors. She used to be married to a Potions Master who died of severe Dragon Pox at sixty three, so she'll expect you to talk about several things in that area, she'll expect you to kiss her hand when you meet for the first time. You must address her as Madame unless she says you an do otherwise, and-"

"I promise I'll be good, and what could be so bad? I deal with Dumbledore and Minerva on a daily basis," he told her soothingly, half smiling on the half of his face that wasn't facing the rest of the great hall.

Sunday, Severus stole Joon away for the day on his weekly trip to Knockturn alley for fresh (and sometimes explicitly rare) potions ingredients he used in his own project potions.

She dressed, as he told her would suffice, in a black robe with a long black cape and a hood that covered her face, as he would be doing the same.

They walked up the street, dodging hagglers by the dozens to get to a cubby where a shaky elevator took them up to the third floor of a shop.

A grubby man who stood behind the counter scrutinized them until Severus put his hood down.

The mans beady eyes traveled to Joon, and she took the hint and put hers down as well. The mans eyes lit up in a way that, to Severus made his intentions clear. Joon, on the other hand seemed to be oblivious to the crude stock dealers' perusal of what of her body was showing.

He felt anger, jealousy, and finally rage build up within him, but showed none of it in his face, only in his eyes.

When the mans gaze traveled to Severus, he almost fell off his chair at the intensity of the hatred seen there.

"I'm here for my last order, Xaltos," he told the man coldly.

Xaltos nodded and went into the back to gather all of the things into a sack and handed them to Severus.

"Your payment will be in the secondary account as per usual, of course."

Severus rushed Joon back into the elevator and stopped it half way between floors one and two.

Joon-

"Whats the matter, Severus?" Joon asked him warily.

He was absolutely fuming. His eyes were boiling black cauldrons of raging fury, and she was hoping it wasn't directed at her.

"The way that little wanker was looking at you! Why I could have-" he hit the side of the shaft with his fists, growling angrily.

Joon was secretly pleased with herself that she actually attracted attention from someone that wasn't emotionally attached to her, and that Severus would fight for her honor like that, but she really wished he would calm down.

He whipped around and grabbed her by the waist, claiming her lips with a fiery passion she hadn't experienced even in Hogsmeade. She instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck and tilted her head to allow him more access.

As he suckled her neck, she heard him growl "Mine."

At least his possessiveness matched hers.

Severus-

As they walked through the doors of the castle, arms laden with covered baskets of ingredients.

Thank goodness they were both covered and charmed to be scentless (and Joons several large hickeys were covered by an undetectable concealing charm), because three quite large, intimidating arours were carrying the man who had been following them the previous day down the hall towards them.

Joon smiled kindly at the arours who in turn grinned shyly.

The burliest of the three tipped his hat to her and said in a deep base voice "Even'n to ya Miss Joon. Glad you got out of those people you had ta work with a'fer. Don' min' 'is piece 'o waste. 'E won' be botherin' ya' any mer'."

"Thank you Claus, thats very sweet of you. I hope you have a wonderful week!" She smiled once more and walked down towards the dungeon, Severus hot on her heels.

Joon-

After they got all of the ingredients sorted, logged, and put away in the storage closet, a student came running down the hall past the open door, tears in her eyes and a bleeding cut on her cheek.

Joon waved goodbye to Severus and almost literally flew in a smoky, Joon-colored haze to catch up with her as she took a turn down a dead end hall.

Joon very softly walked down to her, a ball of watery white light illuminating the dismal passage.

She bent down on one knee in front of the girl and gave her a sad smile.

Her name was Tarry. A Slytherin Second Year.

"Tarry, sweetie, what happened?" she asked gently, prying the small girls hands away from her chest to examine her palms.

"The... Girls in my... Dorm thought... I stole their... Things... But I didn't... I promise!" She told Joon through hiccups and sniffles.

Joon took out the handkerchief she had never given back to Severus (cleaned of course) and wiped her face of the tears, placing her palms over the girls'.

A slight glow was all it took, and the cuts, along with the dried blood, were gone.

Tarry looked at her hands, testing out the skin on her face.

She suddenly hugged Joon around the neck and whispered a muffled "Thank you."

"Why don't we go talk to your Head of House and see about this then, hm?"

She shook her head no. "Professor Snape is too scary."

Joon smiled. "If i ask him nicely, I'm sure we can do something about. What do you say?"

She nodded warily.

Severus-

At the nock on his office door, he called "Enter," sternly.

Joon walked through the threshold with his Second Year Slytherin, Tarry Clemens, hand in hand. So she was the girl who had run by crying.

"How may I help you, Professor Juniper?" He asked formally, mindful of the child's presence.

He took note of his own monogrammed handkerchief, the fifth in the set of ten. Thats where that went...

"Miss Clemens is having problems with her dorm-mates. They accused her of stealing and assaulted her. Is there anything we can do for her?"

"Of course, Miss Jones, Miss Evergreen, Miss Prieve, and Miss Daeé will all be questioned and given punishments. I suppose you may come up with some of it, Miss Clemens?" he replied mildly.

She looked surprised for a moment, and then grinned mischievously.

"The mean prisses should be made to clean all the girls toilets in the castle with Mr. Filch."

"Very Slytherin of you Miss Clemens, I'm sure Mr. Filch will be pleased to hear this," Severus told her dismissively.

As Clemens quite nearly skipped out of the dismal office, Joon closed the door and warded it.

She walked around the desk and straddled Severus' lap after swiftly turing his chair out of the desk. He automatically put his hands on her hips, not knowing exactly what she was trying to do.

"I believe you deserve a treat for being such a good boy," she said with a smirk, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him slowly.

Joon-

At dinner that evening, the High Table was filled with talk of their costumes. It went unsaid the irony of Severus being who he was, and the implications of Joons costume only fueled the rumors that were flying around the school.

Tarry Clemens told Mary Diggle in Ravenclaw about the handkerchief, and so they watched Joon and Severus for a while and figured out that they were talking, meeting, and smiling at each other an awful lot for them not to be together, so they assumed they were together. As in _together-_together.

This juicy piece of gossip then leaked to the rest of Slytherin and Ravenclaw, not to mention Hufflepuff and Gryffindor. The Professors, of course, heard this eventually. Some of the tattle-tales (mostly Prefects) had wanted to get the mess cleared up and vanquish the impossible rumors from the other students, and plainly asked their Heads of House (except Severus, of course) and were met with puzzled, and slightly amused expressions.

Minerva had asked Albus plainly if he knew. The twinkle in his eye was so intense that she knew for a fact that he did. In fact, he was probably meddling right under all of their noses to get them together, simply because he was fond of Severus. Minerva decided to take things into her own hands and had pulled Joon into her office earlier that day.

"What are you and Severus up to?" She demanded in a no-nonsense tone.

Joon stared at her openly, successfully hiding the evidence of surprise.

"I've heard the rumors, you can't hide your relationship forever! Severus is not good for you in any respect of the expression! He's moody, arrogant, and an Ex-Death Eater! You shouldn't affiliate yourself with him, it could mean bad things for your reputation! He's just using you, and I don't like it one bit!"

Joon suddenly looked unusually angry. Minerva knew Joon never lost her calm demeanor. Never. Her pretty violet eyes flared nearly neon, the redder pigments becoming more defined.

"I don't know if you've noticed, _Professor_ McGonagall, but I happen to be an intelligent person. Severus and I have discussed his past, and even the future, and I have_ absolutely nothing_ against him. We are discrete, knowledgable, consenting _adults_. The rumors were invented, and may never be publicly proven, which is just fine with me. The whole damn rest of creation doesn't have to be clued into our lives, and besides, it's not like they cared before! Why now? And you don't have any idea about us besides your assumptions based on those of others!" She stopped for breath, and continued before Minerva could interrupt.

"And what is all this nonsense about my reputation!? Do I seem like I care one smidgeon about my damn reputation? That would go against my entire philosophy! The social world can kiss my ass! I have no idea where our relationship is headed in the future, but you, nor any other woman, man, or child will have any say in any of it! I happen to _Love_ Severus for who he is. And quite deeply at that! Question it all you want, bash us for allowing ourselves to actually find what we've been looking for, but don't you ever challenge his integrity like that again, or you'll be hearing from me long before the sound reaches his consciousness. Am I perfectly clear?" She asked a pale face McGonagall quietly.

She nodded, barely believing her spectacled eyes as Joon's blood red iris' became purple again.

Severus-

Joon looked to be in a terrible mood, if the subtle hints he picked up were of any indication, that is.

She would huff every so often, shooting a slightly pale-faced McGonagall cutting glances; her fork was piercing her plate with an unusual intensity, disguised by the charm to keep them from clattering too loudly; the frustration was rolling off her in waves, he could literally feel it washing over his left side.

"My dear, what seems to be the matter?" He asked her quietly, hiding his mouth with his hands, which were propped up by the elbows on the table.

"Minerva tried me today. And took it a bit too far," she threw down her fork in disgust, taking a long drink from the steaming goblet she always had in the evenings.

"What has she gotten her knickers in a twist over this time?" He asked frankly, which brought a small grin to Joon's face. A sign she was finally calming down.

"She called you a slew of terrible things, accusing you of using me, and trying to get me to leave you," she whispered tiredly. "I guess we'll face plenty of that in time, won't we?" She asked him with a little smile.

Severus nodded solemnly. What was she getting at?

"Thats perfectly fine with me. If the rest of the world can't get some sense and start seeing past their assumptions and prejudices, then that's their problem."

Severus nodded succinctly. She really was in for the long ride. It wasn't that he'd doubted her, it was just wonderful to be reminded he had somebody to be with during the long-haul.

The rest of the week went by quite smoothly, all things considered. Minerva apologized to Joon after she had accidentally walked in on them having a paint fight in the classroom where the students made their murals, laughing and slinging the stuff all over each other. Severus, believe it or not, had instigated this, allowing an unusually irrational impulse to guide his actions. So Joon and Minerva were back on decent terms, and apparently with Minerva's blessing on their long-lasting relationship.

Friday was finally coming to a close, and Severus dismissed his last class.

He had something special planned for their evening together before Joon's aunt arrived the following da to relax their nerves. Of course, it was nothing too frilly, no roses and boxes of chocolates (Joon had banned them until Valentines Day), and certainly no harps and expensive dinners. She didn't want that, and they didn't need it.

He walked past the portrait of Barnabas the Barmy being clubbed by trolls on the seventh floor three times, thinking earnestly of the perfect setting and foods for their first real date. Dumbledore had said not to take Joon out of the castle on any odd trips again in case she were to be tailed by someone like the man from Hogsmeade, and they wouldn't be outside of the rules, Severus thought to himself absently as he opened the new door in the wall to find his every imagining come to life.

He sent the owl straight away from a randomly appearing window and began the preparations.

Joon-

She ran her hands through her disheveled hair, finally finished with the weeks grading, and still nervous about her aunt. What would she think of Severus? Would she be overly protective of her surrogate niece at the first show of affection? She could only guess.

A small owl flew into the open window and perched on the end of the ol stand in her office. She looked over and saw a note.

_Meet me in the Room of Requirement at 7 o' clock ~S.S. _

Joon grinned like a giddy school girl and looked up at the clock. It was already five! She had to get to her room and get ready!

She sprint-walked down to the familiar cool of the dungeons and went into her room to find a beautiful dress lying on her bed. It was bunched up dark purple silk at the sleeveless bust, cascading into a shimmery two-layered skirt of light lavender and deep amethyst.

She took a shower, shaved her legs twice, brushed her teeth thrice, and put her hair back in a fish bone braid at the base of her head that flowed into her naturally wavy, curly brown hair.

She checked over her reflection in the mirror, evaluating herself from every possible angle to make sure she was up to par, and finally put on a cloak before walking in silver flats to the pretty mahogany door with vine-like carvings.

Joon opened it tentatively, walking into the grassy, starlit forest full of fairy lights. She slipped off her shoes to feel the cool spongy moss between her toes, and allowed the cloak to fall from her shoulders before following the path between the trees, in awe of the beauty of the night around her.

Severus was leaning against a tree in the shadows across the clearing before the moon reflecting pool of water. He had his usual teaching robes off, and only the black trousers and crisp white shirt she loved so much remained.

There was a cozy blanket in the grass, a dozen jars filled with more fairy lights surrounding a simple but obviously delicious meal for two.

He padded across the soft natural carpet silently, gliding towards her smiling eyes alone.

He took her hands and kissed her softly on the lips.

"What do you think?" He asked her uncertainly. He was so adorable when he was self-conscious.

"I don't think this is the kind of thing a girl can just articulate like that, its just so beautiful, and sweet, and perfect."

He seemed satisfied with her answer and led her over to the soft blanket.

The food was delicious, and the best part was Severus refused to let her feed herself.

So he did it for her.

And it was the most intimate experience they'd had, topping all the best snogging in the world.

The few times she had accidentally licked his fingers, he had blushed like it was nobodies business and it gave her a terrible idea.

When it came time for the wonderful chocolate mouse desert, she purposefully dipped his index into the thick, creamy substance and, her eyes never leaving his, sucked and licked the digit clean.

Severus-

He could stand the nymphs taunting no longer and kissed her deeply, the chocolate mouse flavor he knew so well exploded on his tastebuds like it never had before. He had his arm around her waist, lying sideways, her smaller hands on his face and chest were sending warm electricity through him.

Her dress was hiked up her soft smooth thighs and he grazed one with his calloused Potions Masters' fingers making her shiver and press herself closer to him.

Before he could blink he was over her, shirt undone, suckling her shoulder and rubbing his bulging erection along her inner thigh, reveling in her warm sweet sighs and moans. Her hands were all over his chest exploring every inch they could touch, tracing his slightly defined pectorals and abdominals drawing back when his fingers grazed the thin elastic line of her panties.

He drew back only slightly, panting from the excitement.

"What is it?"

"I... please don't be angry with me but... Severus I'm just not ready yet..." She turned her head in shame, awaiting his reply. He smoothed his fingers over the skin of her fine cheek-bones.

"I can wait," he told her certainly, "for you, I can wait as long as you need me to."

She turned her face back to his, smiling shyly. He had never seen anybody's eyes change color like hers could, but they were deep, ocean blue. As if the red had just vanished completely.

"I'm not saying it won't ever happen, believe me I want it to, but I just don't think I'm ready just yet. I've done this before, and I want to do something different."

At his puzzled look, she continued "If I always do what I've always done, I,'ll always get what I've always gotten. And while what I've gotten before was pretty great, I'm looking for something more this time. Something that will last."

"Well, whenever you're ready, just say the words," he told her reassuringly.

JG~SS~JG~SS~JG~SS~JG~SS~JG~SS~JG~SS~JG~SS~JG~SS~JG~SS~JG~SS~JG

I may make a youtube and do playlists for this story! :) Look for news at the end of the next chapter

music-(don't get onto me about where it comes from!)

Bittersweet by Ellie Goulding

My Beloved Monster by The Eels

Sorry This was a bit late for the update, but I'll try to keep 'em coming as fast as I can. It's thanksgiving time btw for those of you who read and aren't from the States, so I have a thousand things to do for high school classes and college classes alike, so don't get mad at me please! Love you guys! ;)


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: So here it is!

This Funfact for the Yoshinator:

(Strictly of my own imagining, not safe for work)

When Severus was a small child, and both of his parents had to work at the local mill on Spinners End to keep their home and have sustenance, his mother Elieen didn't want to leave him alone at home. So his grandmother often cared for him. Being an elderly woman, Mrs. Snape brought movies for the little Severus to watch, and several of these were Disney movies from the fifties, having been appropriated for children. In these Disney movies, any time there was romance involved, there were lots of lights, the general "wooing" took place in the evening or night, and there were lots of pretty forest scenes that captivated the female role.

There were also several instances in childhood literature where the paintings and drawings of romantic scenes included the same general ideas and themes.

These were the memories Severus used (along with what was received from eavesdropping on groups of dramatic girls talking of fantasy dates and Lily) for the making of the RoR scene.

Enjoy!

CH 8: Arrival of Madame Selene Adrianna Hillcox

Joon-

Birds chirped sweetly in the background.

Strong, comforting arms wrapped around her, warming her inside of the blue blanket cocoon.

Deep, strong breaths, and a thudding heart met her forehead as she dazedly opened her eyes to the familiar pale bare chest speckled with black hair and unjustly scarred.

She turned her head, and the breaths stilled, he took one in sharply, stretching his arms and legs before curling closer to her source of heat and letting it out slowly.

"Goo'mornin'," he mumbled tiredly, rubbing her back to further rouse her.

She looked up at him, her hair messy and all out of sorts.

The sun wasn't up over the trees just yet, but the orangey-pink light fluttered overhead, the shadow cast on them a comfortable brightness.

He smiled lopsidedly, his black eyes swimming with mirth.

"You've no room to say anything about morning appearances," she mumbled, snuggling up to him when the breeze got chilly.

"What time is it anyways?" She asked him.

He grabbed his wand where he'd left it the previous night and cast the proper charm.

"Eight thirty," he told her, his speech becoming more coherent.

"Ugh. I don't want to get up."

She rolled away from his warmth and out of the blanket to stand up and set her dress to rights. The room shifted itself to have Severus on a simple floor mat, and a paper screen, behind which she found a set of clean clothes from her closet and magically discarded her dirty ones.

Severus-

He was sure Joon didn't know he could still make out her shadowy outline from where he was at on the mat.

He saw the sudden disappearance of her clothes, apparently including her underthings which made him blush. He watched as she put on all of her clothes meticulously, ending with her sneakers and robe.

She exited it, looking back in surprise. She motioned for him to take his turn, walking over to the large mirror that reflected at an angle away from the paper screen.

He went behind the screen as well, seeing what she had looked at oddly. He put his clothes on, manually buttoning all of the buttons on his frock-coat and charming his hair clean, knowing the charm would not prevent the inevitable greasiness that boiling potions later that day for Madame Pomfrey would create.

Joon was waiting for him at the door, smiling sweetly.

She placed her hands against his black-garbed chest and leaned against him a bit.

He leaned down and kissed her generously on her sweet lips before going through the door and exiting... into his office.

"How-?" Joon asked as she followed, looking around in wonder.

"Would you be able to explain to Minerva if she saw us going downstairs from the seventh floor at this hour, when we both sleep down here? Because I certainly wouldn't."

She looked back at the door she had just closed, which wasn't there any longer, and shook her head. "I'm beginning to really love that room. But certainly not as much as I love you..." She told him, giving him a small kiss on the tip of his hooked nose before walking out of the room, swaying her hips a bit just for him.

Joon-

All day long Joon made preparations for her Aunt to stay, finding the room Dumbledore had promised attached to her own room.

At five thirty, Joon was done with every last possible preparation, Severus set to arrive in the hall during the general tour of the castle.

She walked up the stairs to wait at the entrance and read until time to walk to the gate and let Adrianna in.

Adrianna-

The marvelous scenery of Britain she had missed ever so much all went by in a multicolored blur as she used her port-key to travel to the quaint little town she was told was called Hogsmeade, or some other such name.

She had taken perfect care to pack all of her belongings she knew she would need (magically shrunken of course) in a satchel.

She had selected her clothes from her mansion-home meticulously, wearing a beautiful Indian handmade blue and purple shawl with a set of dark blue robes decorated with shimmery, silky purple stars. Her elegant silver hair was a mass of sleek, wavy, curly magnificence cascading down her back.

She arrived at the gate to find her pride and joy, Joonie waiting for her.

Joon-

Aunt Adrianna looked just like she had the last time Joon had gotten to see her in person. Fine boned and classy, she wore her eccentric yet beautiful attire like it was made for her, her perfectly groomed silver hair accenting it well. Her well-tanned skin was slightly more wrinkled, and her wise, deep blue eyes surveyed Joon with warm remembrance.

"You've matured beautifully, my dear," she told Joon in her educated southern-belle accent.

Joon smiled brilliantly and embraced her best friend and surrogate aunt, stealing a whiff of the peppermint perfume she loved so much, and transferring the light-as-air brown leather satchel over to her own shoulder.

"Lets have a tour of the castle first, and then I'll settle you into your room before dinner. You'll love Hogwarts, its amazing!" Joon gushed, leading Adrianna by the hand towards the main entrance.

Dumbledore opened the giant door for them politely, his light blue eyes twinkling madly.

"I presume this young woman is the wonderful Madame Selene Adrianna Hillcox who was so gracious to help raise you, Juniper?" He asked, taking Adrianna's hand in a very gentlemanly fashion and actually kissed it, making Adrianna blush in an equally ladylike fashion.

"That would be correct, Professor," she replied.

"Please, call me Albus."

Joon was beginning to get the slightly uncomfortable yet inexplicably wonderful impression that Dumbledore had the hots for her aunt.

"Of course, won't you join us in the tour?" She asked, her own cerulean eyes shining adoringly.

"I'm afraid I wont be imposing my presence on you any longer until dinner of course. Have a wonderful evening Madame," he whisked away, disappearing behind a door Joon swore lead into a broom closet the last time she had checked.

Severus-

He was leaning against the corner of the bend in the hall, perfectly out of view of someone walking down the junction.

He rehearsed his manners in his head, remembering what to say and what not to say, waiting for the perfect time to pop out of hiding.

Severus then heard the beautiful voice of his angel, along with another feminine voice that spoke with a rich American accent.

Adrianna-

Joon had shown her around the upper parts of the castle, and they were down to the fourth floor. Joon seemed to be anticipating something, but she simply couldn't place what it would be... Unless... the man she had told her about. _Joons man_.

A tall figure came walking around the corner with long, prowling strides. He looked to be in his mid-twenties, and absolutely exuded power. He fit what description she was given. Jet black hair, black eyes, tall, lean, but where did the sweetheart part come in?

As soon as the mans eyes lit upon Joon, they came alive. A quite handsome smile lit up his face and he embraced her. Adrianna caught a glimpse of Joon's expression, and knew in an instant they both had it. Badly.

"Aunt Anna, I'd like to introduce Severus Snape, the schools Potions Master. And my... AH, What are you, again?" Joon faltered. She realized she had no idea what to call him.

"Let's stick with significant other, shall we?" he supplied very quietly with perfect pause, smiling at her reassuringly. He had no idea, but he had just saved his own arse.

Adrianna scrutinized Severus' face, looking for any signs of insincerity, but found none.

In the same moment, Adrianna gave him her hand, and he took it, giving it a short peck, and he smiled at her, letting it go.

Then he spoke. And Adrianna heard his defining feature. His rich voice, deep and velvet like dark chocolate, perfect British accent, most likely made because of a high palate.

"I'm quite pleased to meet you, Madame," he told her, "I've heard plenty about you from our Joon."

At dinner, Albus insisted that she sit next to him, and booted a strict looking black haired teacher to the end of the table next to Joon.

He sat in the chair with the highest back, clad in his very well put together outfit. He told her about the elves who made the food (explaining their work conditions to clear out any misconceptions of course), the enchanted ceiling she loved so well which glittered with the first stars of the evening, and a smidgen of the castles history. She couldn't take her eyes off him, quite sure she was smitten, but not caring thanks to good food and even better conversation.

Joon-

"Severus, I think we may have a problem," Joon whispered.

"I see," he replied quietly, sparing the two chattering elders a glance.

Minerva leaned over and said "How long will your aunt be staying?"

"I have no idea, at least a week," Joon told her. "Why do you ask?"

"Just wondering..." Minerva replied, not without a hint of bitterness.

"Minerva! Are you... jealous that Albus...?" Joon questioned the older woman slyly.

Minerva's cheeks flushed pink. "No! Of course not!" She nipped, her Scottish accent thickening.

"I'm sure of that." As if.

Severus-

Severus was quite finished with his meal, and tired of having his right ear degraded by the insanely eccentric conversation from the elderly conniving old coot who was obviously smitten with Joon's aunt.

"Severus, there aren't supposed to be any announcements this evening, so why don't we take a walk? Give me six an a half minutes to finish eating so it won't look too conspicuous," Joon whispered in his ear with a strait face. He nodded.

Out in the empty courtyard, it was pitch black, and Severus blended in perfectly standing next to the wall beside a tree out of the way of the light coming from the castles windows.

Joon-

Joon joined him at he time she requested, and they began to walk around the grounds, hand in hand to keep from loosing one another in the moonless starry night.

Something quite large bounded towards them on all fours, and Joon put a stilling hand on Severus' shoulder, sensing its shape.

"Fang?" She asked into the night. A big booming bark came from directly in front of her.

Fang, Hagrid's dog, was an enormous black boar hound, its head level with Joon's stomach.

She patted him on his head and he bounded off.

Severus whispered "Joon, when is your birthday?"

She smiled into the night and whispered back to him "Saint Patricks Day. When's yours?"

"January the ninth."

She gave him an unseen cheshire grin, knowing exactly what she was going to get him for his birthday.

They continued to walk almost blindly around the grounds, Severus' hand roaming to her waist.

They enjoyed quiet conversation, walking for what seemed like only a few minutes but turned out to be an entire hour.

Joon made them invisible when they could begin to see themselves in the light of the castle.

Argus Filch the custodian, lucky for them, was fiddling with the keys to the lock to he front door when they walked up, and they slipped in, not unnoticed by Mr. and Mrs. Norris, Argus' two cats who followed him everywhere. Their green and yellow lamp-like eyes followed them as they crept by, but because Joon had gotten them both out of traps and the like in previous settings, they allowed them to pass unnoticed.

After making it down the stairs towards the basement, Joon made them visible again. Severus looked at her kindly, walking her to their rooms, and just as she turned the handle, he kissed her longingly on the lips, taking her breath away. He turned to go as she opened the door.

Inside, Adrianna was sitting on the sofa, looking directly at the door with a cup of hot chocolate in her hands. She knew she saw the last billowy bit of Severus' robes take off out of sight further down the hall.

Joon closed and locked the door, steeling herself for the stern talking to on the edge of Adrianna's tongue, unnaturally aware of the swollen quality of her lips, and the flush of her cheeks (and probably her neck too as it was so wont to do).

"Come have a seat. You're chocolate is still warm."

She did so, taking her mug and sipping, completely aware her lips were just a little too red to be natural.

"So, details! Details! You can't leave me hanging like this, all I know about the man is what he looks like and sounds like! Where's he from, when is his birthday, what are his hobbies? Details!"

Joon stared openly at the woman. What?

"And he let you keep the dress?" Adrianna asked incredulously after Joon's (censored) recounting of her date with Severus.

Joon nodded excitedly, all of the feelings of the previous night rushing back to her in the afterglow of reliving her vivid memory.

"I saw his face when he looked at you before you introduced him. He really is in love with you. And I can tell your reciprocation is no little matter. So... have you...?"

Adrianna would ask this every time Joon got a steady boyfriend. Were they going to have sex?, did they have it already?, was it forced?, did she enjoy herself?. Ugh.

"Almost, twice actually, but no. I want to wait, and he wants me to be happy."

Adrianna smiled. "He's a keeper, mark my words Juniper Alexandra."

Joon blushed. Adrianna had never told her that before about a man, especially one that she had only spoken to a handful of times.

"So what are you and 'Albus' up to?" Joon asked, giggling.

Adrianna suddenly began to fidget. Joon had never seen her like this.

"I really don't know. I swear if he doesn't ask permission to court at some point I may do it myself," she replied. Joon smiled at the out-of-date reference to Adrianna's past.

"Have you told him how old you are yet?" Joon asked slyly. 142 was a big number, and Dumbledore was only in his early 110's, and she knew Adrianna was very touchy about her age when it came to men, especially after the huge problem her family had about marrying a man who was over twenty years her senior.

"No, but he made me aware of his. He thinks I'm in my nineties! I haven't blushed so since the 1940's when Howard Snelt said I had a nice set. Of course he had dementia at the time, but still."

Joon burst out laughing. She had been told the tale before, and loved the expression on Adrianna's face each time.

"Hm," she sighed, "Well, my dear June-bug, I must be off to bed. I am an old woman after all."

The following day was Sunday, and Joon caught Dumbledore giving Adrianna the eye.

She pulled him aside into the broom closet on the first floor and gave him her best stern glare, a mix of Minerva's and Severus'.

Apparently it worked well, because he stepped back into the cabinet behind him, a bit afraid. She knew her eyes probably looked quite fearful at the moment, as she had control over their pigment.

"What are your plans concerning my aunt?" She asked him in a plain, low tone.

"I'd like to court her eventually, if that's alright with you," he told her, his voice holding out.

"I won't stop you, but I swear, if you break her heart, or hurt her in any way, I will hunt you down. Your punishment will fit your crime, and believe me, I can be quite... inventive. There are worse things than death, Albus, you should know that by now, and I am aware of many of them."

She walked out of the room, making her eyes turn back to their normal color and leaving a shellshocked Dumbledore in her wake.

Severus-

He saw Dumbledore walk out of the closet a while after Joon had, pale and bit shaky in the joints.

"Albus, what did she do to you?" Minerva asked him worriedly.

"Just... Gave me a good scare to keep me straight."

Severus smiled to himself. That sounded like his Joon.

In the later evening, when they were both in Severus' chambers enjoying a cup of tea before bed, he was holding Joon's small hand, and began to admire her fine-boned fingers. Merlin! Her ring finger was only just barely the size of his little finger! Why did women have to have such small hands?

He was struck suddenly.

Ring finger. She was his woman. And her fingers were bare. What would his grandmother think if she caught him at this? Absolutely disgraceful.

He wasted no time and thought hard about different possible ways to go from then on, and remembered the ring he had.

He walked over to the south bookshelf and lifted a rather large tome from the middle of a sideways stack and opened it, revealing the hidden keepsake box he had received from his grandmother.

Within was a small assortment of old things of hers, mostly knickknacks he had played with as a child, but there was one truly precious piece in the lot of old things. Her emerald and white gold ring from when his grandfather proposed. He stuck it on his little finger stealthily, making sure Joon couldn't see. It didn't go past his second joint, but that was good enough.

After returning the safe-box to its rightful place, he walked over to his bleary eyed woman, the ring in his pocket, and resumed his tea.

The fire growing dim, and Joon sleepily cuddling up to him, he saw his chance.

He lifted her hand, pulling her arm gently over to him, and slid the ring onto her right hand ring finger. It was as perfect as it could get without being hand-crafted for her, and she began to drift off to sleep.

Severus kissed her head, and whisked her away.

Joon-

Monday morning, Joon got up from her bed (how'd she end up there?) and rubbed her face, something catching oddly on her lip. She opened her eyes fully and stared open-mouthed at the beautiful emerald ring on her finger. She almost squealed, holding it in when she remembered that Adrianna was probably still in bed.

The beautiful green gems glittered in the fake sunlight bursting from her magic window (set to Autumn), and she remembered clearly the several seconds before she fully drifted off to sleep. He must have seen his chance, and slipped it onto her finger.

Adrianna walked in after peeking to make sure Joon was dressed.

She immediately saw the ring on Joon's finger and put it up to the light.

"He must think you're a keeper too," she whispered in awe.

Joon nodded, almost tearing up.

"We're such hopeless romantics sometimes," Adrianna commented with a bark of laughter.

"I know, but it's not always a bad thing," Joon replied, embracing her wonderful aunt.

Severus-

He hadn't slept very well that night, nervous as hell about Joon's reaction to the ring.

Would she like it? Hate it? Scream with happiness or disgust? Would she react at all? He knew he was being paranoid like always, but he couldn't help but worry.

Walking out of his rooms uncertainly at seven sixteen, he waited for her, all but chewing his nails.

She walked out, put together even better than usual for the hour of the morning it was, and to his relief, was wearing the ring.

She was grinning from ear to ear (figuratively speaking) and hugged him tightly.

"Oh Severus, I love it so much! Thank you!" he heard her muffled voice say.

She was the perfect height in her flat boots for him to put his chin on top of her head and wrap his arms around her. She sighed in contentment.

"I love you," he whispered.

"I love you more," she replied with a hint of challenge to her tone.

He pulled her away slightly to kiss her searingly on the lips, feeling her knees weaken.

"That, I assure you madam, is entirely impossible to the billionth degree," he growled in response, allowing her to breathe only for a second before claiming her lips again.

Unbeknownst to the pair, a gaggle of Slytherin girls was making their way up to breakfast early before going to the library to finish up some assignments, and stopped when they came around the corner, silently backtracking when they saw their Head of House and the school Guidance Counselor _together. _

Sharing several significant and quite devious looks, they snuck off to the alternate route up the stairs, whispering, several of them gushing about the promise ring they could see sparkling from the candle light when thier Guidance Counselors hand flit over their Head of House's jaw, up his face, and into his hair.

If there was one thing for certain, Severus Snape did in fact, have a girlfriend.

Dumbledore-

During breakfast, Minerva almost spat her pumpkin juice out when she saw Joon's hand. At the older woman's surprised look, Joon just smiled and winked before going back to her meal.

The pod of notorious gossipers at the Slytherin table were absolutely alive. They were whispering, and giggling, and there was mischief thick in the air.

All of the rumors had been confirmed by what they had seen, and soon almost the whole student body knew about the confirmed relationship.

Some of the girls were shocked, others not too surprised, and a pair Hufflepuffs were almost completely alone in believing it was adorable. The rest of the school, however, was divided between those who were indifferent to the matter, and those who believed that Snape was using Joon for his own purposes, and was probably marrying her for looks, money, and power.

The second scandal on the list of gossip, was what the Headmaster and the guest were getting up to. They had been spotted making eyes, appraising each other at a distance, taking strolls with conversation, and over all having a quite old fashioned courting.

Many of the girls who cared, believed it to be perfectly legitimate, and even made bets at how long it would take them to get married.

Dumbledore, of course, knew all of this, being the well informed Headmaster he was, and made extra sure that precautions were taken to ensure the students weren't privy to too much information on either of the subjects.

They didn't need to know everything, now did they?

Albus continued to talk with Adrianna, admiring her table manners and poise, skills not taught to proper young ladies as often any longer.

She dressed in fine clothes, always dressing her best. Her eyes spoke of wisdom, and her smile radiated warmth and sincerity. Not to mention she was a dab hand in the kitchen (his first and best experience with southern states cooking), and a fine player on the chess table.

He was content to be with her no matter where they were at, if it was in his office talking or reading and doing paperwork, or outside visiting Hagrid and checking on the lake mermaids, she was a perfect constant and he wanted her for himself alone.

She had revealed to him her real age, and it had truly surprised him. Her well preserved features made her look not a day over eighty. He, of course, didn't mind the age difference,magical folk lived much longer by far than muggles anyways and age was only an issue below fifty.

He had plans for the two of them if Adrianna was willing, and he was determined he'd make sure she wouldn't say no before he asked.

A/N: I have a youtube channel and an email address set up for this! Make comments and listen to the music!

User name: AlikumaFanfiction

Link: user/AlikumaFanfiction?feature=mhee

Playlists are obviously labeled for use, plenty of Lyric videos for better understanding :)


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Nobody has guessed who the Hogwarts Staff is supposed to be! :(

For those of you who have never seen the Andrew Lloyd Webber film adaptation is on Youtube. Severus' Costume is pictured in my Avatar, and this particular part of the story is a tribute to the SS/HG fic The Phantom Of Hogwarts by Good_Witch on Ashwinder here: . ?sid=5882

Happy Reading! :D

CH 9: People, Party, Promises

Joon-

It was the day before Halloween, one day before the party.

Aunt Adrianna had yet to leave, and had gotten in on the group-costume idea.

Joon's mural club had completed some of the prettiest and magical pieces of art she had seen in a while. The pumpkins eyes blinked, their candlelight swaying in the breeze that moved the tree-leaves all across the stretches of previously barren walls.

To the best of their abilities, she and Filius had decorated the entire castle to be spooky and tastefully creepy.

The Great Hall was set to turn into a dance-floor with seating arrangements for dinner and a wonderful selection of Halloween based foods from the old days (1800's) and some more modern dishes.

Severus joined her on a stroll through the grounds that night and linked their arms in a very gentlemanly fashion.

"How has the decorating process come along?" he asked in idle conversation.

"Very well, we've gotten the entire castle decorated for the holiday, and the party will be perfect."

They were next to the beech tree near the water's edge, the half moon bright and showing them their path.

He twirled her around and had her arm behind her, pressed up against the tree.

She inhaled, startled, but melted into his passionate kisses. These sessions had recently gotten longer by a few minutes to compensate for lack of time to talk because of Joon's increase in duties around the castle. Her leg was wrapped around his hip, apparently driving him mad, because he hoisted her up onto his waist fully, gripping her bum to keep her safe and began his fierce assault on her neck.

Wanting to try something new for a change, she used a bit of magic to open her button up shirt and release her chest from the confines of her brassiere. At his questioning pause, she wrapped her hand in his hair and whispered "Go ahead."

She arched her back into him as he ran his tongue teasingly across her exposed breast, sucking in a sharp breath.

His rumbling chuckle echoed through her sternum as she mewled, squirming beneath his touch.

When he took most of her left side in his mouth and sucked hard, she moaned, pressing her hand on the back of his head firmer, egging him on.

He allowed her to slide down the tree a bit, pressing their pelvis' together to show her his arousal.

"My dear, you have no idea how you move me," he growled into her ear, gyrating against her.

Back inside the castle, their clothes arranged correctly and hair in place, they walked side by side to the dungeons, kissing passionately before almost forcing themselves apart.

"I'll help you get your costume on tomorrow, it's a bit tricky sometimes," Joon told him, running her fingers through his hair lightly.

He gave her a feral grin. "Maybe I can help you out of yours sometime?"

She kissed him on the nose and went inside her rooms, winking at him.

Severus-

There was no doubts in his mind that he loved her.

She smelled just like a juniper tree (he had found out recently by chance), her eyes were so beautiful he could barely take his off of them, but if he could, he would get the chance to admire her bust, curvy in all the right places; her breasts that were neither too big, nor to small; her hips, that were just wide enough to fit with his; her American thighs that spoke of her aunts cooking; her graceful legs; her dainty, high arched feet with small toes...

He was glad he was in his rooms in bed, his libido was hyped up tremendously since Joon had truly come into his life. He felt a powerful prideful and protective surge go through him every time he saw her with his ring on, which was every day if she didn't have a Mural Club meeting within twenty minutes.

He simply couldn't picture his life without her.

She was a constant force, like the rain, or the clouds. And he had been a desert before he met her, devoid of the main component of life: water; now he felt like a thriving fountain.

The drive to dominate her and claim her as his was growing, and he knew he would keep it at bay as long as she asked, even if it drove him out of his mind. Because it made her happy.

He thought of their future.

Her only living relative liked him well enough, and he had none. Minerva wouldn't slaughter him as long as Joon was healthy, alive, and happy. And Albus had already spoken to him about Lily. He was absolutely sure he had let go. She didn't need to be more than a fond memory, the end of the war and Joon's life and welfare his driving force for spying.

If she would have him, she could move into his rooms, sleep in his bed, share his life.

He just didn't know how to go on otherwise.

Joon-

She was lying back on the sofa with her head in Adrianna's lap (who was running her fingers through Joons hair), almost asleep.

Severus' birthday present would go over better than she expected, judging by his intensity as of late.

Of course with Joon's luck, because of her unusually high fertility rate, she had to go on a special regimen from St. Mungo's of high concentration birth control potion. This particular type of regimen had to be introduced slowly and continued for a short period to consistently work over any expanse of time, and she really didn't want to risk getting pregnant and spoiling her relationship with Severus so early on.

The halfway mark to sexual freedom happened to be that very day, and she'd be perfectly ready for Severus' birthday surprise.

Adrianna began to almost massage Joon's scalp as she ran her fingers through the healthy, luscious strands, and it drove all reckoning from her mind.

Before bed, she checked on her costume, warding it just in case, and setting her hair to curl wildly in the morning. After all, the costumes could be worn all day, could they not?

The final morning of October dawned bright, with not a cloud in the sky.

Joon awoke and took a shower, her hair curling perfectly into corkscrew ringlets as it dried. She put on the appropriate makeup which came with the costume, and slipped into the beautiful opera house gown, shoes to match.

She looked into the mirror, and a smiling purple eyed Christine Daaé looked back.

Out in the hallway awaited Erik, mask and all, looking at her intensely.

She blushed under his gaze, and he embraced her. She moaned into his mouth, the sensations he was eliciting from stroking the side of her breast causing her to arch her back into him.

"Good morning," he said to her huskily.

"Good morning to you too," she replied, snuggling into his chest comfortably, his chin resting on her head of curls. "I like your costume," she told him, leaning out of his embrace to give him a good once over.

Severus-

"I certainly like yours as well, madam."

He smirked satisfactorily at her blush and swooped in to give her a chaste kiss on the lips, offered her the crook of his arm, which she accepted with a grin and a glint in her eye, and he led her up the stairs to the great hall, and to their seats.

The students seemed to be in the spirit of things, and were all decked out in their colorful, and (some) quite imaginative costumes. A beautiful autumn light filtered through the windows of the great hall, and shone upon the many parts of the staff, whom were all dressed in their costumes, happily chatting excitedly about the party that evening.

All of the classes were centered on varying subjects of Halloween, Severus begrudgingly getting the students of the day to all make a simple potion which turned the recipient's skin orange, hair green, and lips purple.

Finally, the party had arrived, every student and teacher showing up post-haste.

The whole hall was decked out in a beautiful Halloween theme, the general items enhanced by their magical abilities. Live bats fluttered about the ceiling, which was a beautiful starry night. Giant live pumpkins with flickering candles within blazed in grinning repose, and the Hogwarts ghosts were having a great time randomly going through students, appearing in the punch bowl, and Peeves especially was absolutely giddy with excitement, although his activities were purposefully limited and monitored.

The whole staff was decked out in their brilliantly made costumes. Severus, with an intimidating sneer and no little amount of protest, was put into his "Masquerade/Why So Silent" scene scarlet red robes and mask, cape and all.

They mingled, danced to the live band, and eventually snuck out into the empty, pitch black courtyard. Sitting on a bench and looking up at the gorgeous expanse of sky above them, Joon laid her head on Severus' shoulder, and his hand was on hers on his thigh.

"Severus, what do you think about the future?" she asked him quietly.

"… I think that, in light of current events, it may be better than expected."

"Current events?" she asked him in confusion.

"Well, I've met the woman of my dreams, and her charming mother-figure," he began, looking over at her, his eyes searching in the dark for a glint of her beautiful eyes, "I have glimpsed of a future where I am not alone. I have someone warm and tangible to come home to, who cares, and won't turn me away because I look differently than most men deemed handsome by the public," he gently caressed her fine cheek, his eyes finally adjusting to her general shape in the darkness. "Joon, I love you, and I have no idea what I may become without you at my side. I hope you'll stay with me, be mine. I apologize if I become jealous of other men who see you the way I do, but it is my nature. I am entirely too possessive of you, my dear, and utterly paranoid about it to a fault, if you'll forgive me for it."

Joon-

She almost couldn't breathe. As far as love speeches went, in her mind they went above and beyond any she had heard before.

Unbeknownst to her, warm salty tears trickled down her cheeks, and one lit on his palm when she turned her head to lean into his touch. He swiped his thumb slowly across her cheek to be rid of the offending tear, and looked into the twinkle of the light from the castle that glimmered off her wet eyes.

"I forgive you. I will always forgive you, I swear it, it… it may take some time for some things, but I swear I'll forgive you, even when nobody else will."


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: In this chapter, we will finally get to see what kind of nuttiness Joon does with her days, although this may seem a little mundane in places, it will be fun. Just a bridge to the next chapter, and I'm bored.

Oh, and HAPPY FEBRUARY! The 12th is my 16th birthday, so wish me luck with my driving (grits teeth nervously). Also, our dear Professor would have turned (does minor calculations in head) uuhhh… (fails miserably and whips out calculator) ~53 on the 9th! So he'd be just over the hill, had he not sacrificed himself (in canon) just after I had turned 2. : ( but, alas, we Fanon lovers do what we can to remedy that little problem, no?

And as a confirmation, Joon is in fact a Psychiatrist, which is different from a Psychologist, because they are also trained medical doctors who can prescribe medicine. She was just a Psychologist for a bit, doing lots of "in ward" training while getting the medical part of her degree. In my fannon, all human minds are human minds, and therefore the Magical Psychological trainees are sent to Muggle Psychological Schools, getting their Psychiatric licenses after also becoming a trained Healer in the Magical World.

Happy Reading! :D

CH10: Joon (Teacher, Lover, Psychiatrist, Friend, Guidance Counselor, etc.)-

She woke up Monday morning at seven o'clock exactly, and turned off the alarm (still three seconds off), and went to take a quick 5 minute shower. The water was warm and clean as it flowed through her messy hair, and she focused on washing herself quickly using her magic (which was basically the same as breathing) to bring two brushes and scrub her legs and torso clean while she manually washed her hair, checking her skull for the mended lump where she had gotten that delayed concussion.

It still scared her somewhat to think that she could have died, and not even had the chance to really get to know Severus, help the children, teach them about themselves… she finished up rinsing, forcing herself out of the nostalgia (making note that she should have the focus potion a little early today for good measure), and went to dress.

She supposed Severus had rubbed off on her (in more than one way), as she now took to wearing her boots more often than not, the ankle support welcome for her skinny joints. She pulled on her undershirt, pants, dress shirt, and comfortably swishy robes before drying her hair manually and brushing her teeth.

At 7:17 she exited her rooms, a second before Severus, they shut their doors in unison, grinning at each other (well, Severus' was more like a secretive raising of the edges of his mouth), and walked to breakfast in the Great Hall, Entering and taking their seats like normal and lazily began to eat breakfast, the post coming at its usual time.

Joon got a letter from the Ministry about a court date for a Type 1 Schizophrenic patient she had been seeing, who had gone into a Residual Phase and was currently getting himself acquainted with a new Psychologist in case of another episode of "Mr. Salvador" (code name for the voices so he wouldn't get berated by society in public) talking to him again, and telling him about how muggle weapons are so ingenious at killing, that he should try them… on himself, and others.

He had apparently gotten angry at a man who found out he had the mental disorder, and tried to force him out of his diner, which was unlawful anyways, as he had not caused any trouble in the first place. Unfortunately, however, the man had pulled a wand, and her paitent had broken it in two, and attempted to shove the sharp pieces of wood into the diner owners ears for being mean. The charges of assault were making too much stress for him, and so the court needed her to come in with his current therapist to calm him long enough to hear his side of the story.

Breakfast was porridge, oranges, and three types of bacon (pork, tofu, and turkey).

She made sure Severus knew which was which in case he was groggy, as the coffee was not out yet.

He nodded absently, reading the Daily Prophet for anything good, and settling on an article about a new Wolfsbane potion breakthrough in Sweden, and what it meant for the Werewolf population around the globe.

After breakfast, she spent her free period that morning getting truly woken up for her next period class, a bunch of First Years, and assembling the assignment, which was a timed point based word game (Muggle Pictionary Jr.) that they could earn house points for by stretching their mind, which would follow presenting their "homework" which consisted of drawing a conceptual portrait of themselves, making their faces with anything they could think of that they liked, pictures and words either one.

The class was really brain training, stretching the imagination, and learning/increasing awareness about the self, although she made it seem like fun games and art, which was proven to relieve some stress.

This particular block of Gryffindor/Slytherins was a tough one, because they were much less open about themselves in front of their perceived enemies, but really it was important that they all come to an understanding that no matter the differences between houses, they all had a common ground to make treaty upon: they were all human, trying to make their way through life, and although there were many differences between each group, there were more differences within each group than there were between each group as a whole.

Lunch was light, self prepared sandwiches with all manner of condiments, meats, vegetables, and such to go on the delicious fresh baked bread.

Joon took four slices and made two separate sandwiches, one with three different kinds of meat and a light smattering of French mustard with mayonnaise, the other a vegetable one with tomato slices, cabbage, slices of squash and cucumber, and a good helping of Ranch style dressing, which her aunt was kind enough to bring over from the states as a nostalgic reminder of their times on the porch eating salad looking over the fields towards the Appalachian Mountains.

Severus simply went for a random assortment of everything on two big slices of bread, covering it all with ketchup, which basically canceled out all of the other flavors, and devoured it in six bites, returning to alternately glaring at students who laughed too loudly, sipping his tea, and reading the potions monthly journal, Ars Alchema, that had come finally after getting through a detour around a forest fire somewhere outside of London.

She conversed with Pamona Sprout about her newest shipment of plants, and the anti-depressive properties of the sap that her sixth years would be collecting just before the first snow if they could catch it, when she cast a cursory glance over a few Hufflepuffs and saw one looking particularly pale and weak, being consoled by her friend. Bells went off in Joons head, the Healer senses she had picked up during training tingling sharply as several possible causes hit her.

"Pamona, I hate to interrupt, but is Ashley Davis prone to sugar drops, like, for instance, in diabetes?" she asked the plump woman sharply. She looked over at her student and became pale, nodding and replying that Ashley was Muggle-Born and a recent border Diabetic.

As Ashley seemed to grow fainter, Joon saw the precipice of a serious drop and grabbed the jar of sugar off their table for the tea, and vaulted the table, using magic to "rush" over to the girl, literally not touching the ground with her feet until less than a few feet away. She grabbed the jug of water near the girl, and poured a cup, mixing in a good spoonful of the sugar and handing it to her, urging her desperately to drink up. The hall was silent, but for the sound of the girls' slow but steady gulping of the sweet water, all eyes on Joon and Davis.

After finishing the cup, Joon quizzed her softly on her current monitoring divice, and what the readings were the last time they were checked, which was the day before.

"I'm sorry, Professor Joon, I woke up late this morning, and then I had to rush for breakfast, and I only got in a few spoonfuls of porridge before sprinting to Transfigurations. I didn't have any time to check it."

"Dear, you really should be careful about that. Being late is not an issue when faced with your health. I'm sure professor McGonagall would have understood if you had explained yourself," Joon told her quietly, picking up the girl's school bag and motioning for her to follow, obviously going to the Hospital Wing to have Poppy look her over.

That evening, she had a double class with the fourth year Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors, doing a "finish the sentence" questionnaire for self awareness and deeper thinking about what they believe about the world around them, and their personality types.

Finally to finish off the day, she had Elemental Magics Club with a good group of fifth, sixth, and seventh years.

The windiness of the day was not unnoticed by her, so she took the opportunity to help them hone in on the wind, and would show them in the next meeting about how to move it when there wasn't really any to begin with. Everyone succeeded by the end of the hour to direct the wind in a V shape around them so that they either felt a light breeze or nothing at all.

Joon took a leisurely stroll to her office across the hall from her classroom, and laid down on the couch to sum up her testimony and thoughts on the case of her patient for the court date, in three weeks, and have a mental dictation quill write it all out for her on a long scroll of thick parchment she used for official business so there would be less issue with the paper ripping.

Dinner was a pot roast, with potatoes, onions, carrots and rolls. A thick pie was desert, and everyone began their treks to their houses, and offices to do what they did before bedtime.

Joon noticed (as she did just about everything else) that Albus and her aunt were really getting close, taking their conversations to Albus' tower office, which sometimes lasted all night, her aunt showing up at an odd hour of the morning with a light grin and a sleepy voice.

She and Severus were currently snuggling (the thought of the seemingly dour man in the same sentence as the word made her giggle) on the sofa in her office, Joon lazily stroking his hand in a way that would seem to any onlooker as a normal gesture of curiosity, but Joon knew that the particular way she happened to be touching his hand with her fingers was quite tantalizing, eliciting a blushing response (she felt a triumphant glee that she alone could bring healthy color to his shallow cheeks).

He finally drew his hand out of her teasing grasp and began to stroke her hair, getting her scalp in the process, and lulling her into a sleepy haze.

"I have found your weakness!" he whispered with victorious glee as he watched her eyes droop closed, "I can now control your mind-" he continued, but was cut off.

"I don't care what you control me to… to do, just… please don'… stooop," she said lazily, her head lolling on to his thigh, facing the fireplace and sighing in contentment.

The following few days continued in much the same fashion, with the continuation of her testimony and notes, checking on Ms. Davis, teaching her students, and spending quality time with Severus.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: Soooooo, everybody needs to check out my profile, the Youtube Address is in there for music playlists, and my Deviantart is Wendy-A-Snape, I only have two deviations on there, but the Journal is more of what you should worry about.

I'M SO EXCITED! I got a favorite right after I posted chapter 9! I was like "Holy cow these people are fast!" and when I posted chapter 10 the next morning I wondered if you guys would know what to do with me because I took FOREVER to update and suddenly began to whip them out one by one in quick succession, but, oh well.

For those of you hanging on to the M rating "for safety and later chapters", it's been a long time coming, and it is just the 80's so St. Mungo's has yet to endorse a universal birth control (Happens in May of 1990) Joon cannot have intercourse until the potion is well sucked into her uterine walls. But, never fear, if you've picked up on anything (*ahem*birthdaysurprisesincluded*cough*) then you know that within the next four chapters, to put it bluntly, they'll "rut like wild animals". And that's a warning to all of you not used to this, only the good parts will be explicit, the rest will be simply put and generally described with some adjectives and adverbs. Good? Onward then! ====

CH11: Separation Anxiety

Joon-

Having no idea what to do with herself was something Joon was not accustomed to.

Severus had gone off to a Potions Masters Symposium, the biggest meeting of all Potions Masters on the planet, from every corner of the world that only happened every five years. The attendees were not allowed to bring guests (family or otherwise) to the meeting because of limited seating and boarding.

And so, Joon was not allowed to go.

She piddled about her office, cleaning, moving the furniture around several times, and basically keeping herself busy. She was beginning to run out of things to do, and pulled all of her books out of the bookshelves by hand, piling them in large stacks by general likeness of color, and all of the knickknacks, photos, and old boxes haphazardly placed between a series of volumes and a smattering of other books, or just to keep the ones on the end upright, were put on the floor in a corner so as not to be in the way and be less likely to get broken.

She finished the whole project, munching delightedly on a platter of light cucumber sandwiches, tea, and crisps that a house elf brought to her. All of the books were arranged in exact color coded order, and the knickknacks were on the ends, all organized by class, type, and importance, from eye level up and down.

Minerva had come to check on her when she had missed lunch (especially because it was the Saturday Severus left for a Symposium), and found her in a most unbecoming situation. Because there was a possibility that she had dropped one of the books beneath the sofa, Joon decided to go under it and see, and because of her more Muggle tendencies, she didn't think to levitate the sofa. And so she wriggled her way beneath the thing, getting stuck without knowing it, her breasts making the situation cumbersome and uncomfortable.

Minerva immediately levitated the sofa off of her, and helped her up, sneezing and coughing from the dust.

"Dear, are you sure you're all-right? You could come help me in my office with a project, and then we can have some tea if you'd like?"

"I think that'd be nice, thank you," Joon replied, magically dusting herself off.

After doing what was generally a three-person-job of transfiguration, the two women sat down for tea, and watched the forest out the window, sharing quiet companionship.

"Dear, I don't mean to pry, but what do you see in him?"

"Who? Severus?" Joon asked, confused. "I... I see everything he won't allow everyone else to see, let's leave it at that. I know just about everything about his past he's got to tell, and he knows about an equal amount of mine, including that one big secret we all promised not to speak of."

"You mean, you told him... about your real father?" Minerva asked incredulously.

Joon nodded, taking a long sip of tea and sitting it on the saucer on the table.

"I told him, and he didn't flee my presence despite his animosity for the man, and even comforted me, listening to my story. There have been a good number of men who believed themselves in love with me in the past, and true though that may have been, I never loved them back like they deserved. But I know without a doubt that I love Severus, and it's... it's really indescribable. I couldn't have asked for more," she told the older woman in a quiet voice.

Severus-

Having no idea what to do with himself was something Severus was not accustomed to at all.

Severus had gone off to a Potions Masters Symposium, the biggest meeting of all Potions Masters on the planet, from every corner of the world. And the attendees were no allowed to bring guests (family or otherwise) to the meeting because of limited seating and boarding.

The small flat he was given for the duration of his stay was plain, dark blue, and boring; the sparse collection of books was inadequate to say the least, as he'd already read most of them anyways, and on top of that, there was something missing.

He looked in the bedroom, at the tiny single sized bed, obviously elongated to fit his tall thin frame. He stared for a moment at the lonely lamp, sat in the high backed chair, not bothering to put his feet up.

Joon wasn't there.

Severus sighed in resignation. He had never minded being alone before there was someone to be with, but now he missed her lying around on his couch reading while he graded papers, or sitting across his lap reading news papers with him, or sharing a glorious snog.

The thickness of the Brazilian air was choking him, so he put a few cooling charms on the room and turned on the complementary magical version of a dehumidifier, which brought the only humming bit of noise in the flat.

After only a few minutes, he was able to breathe better, and looked at the clock he had set like the timezone in Britain. It was about four in the evening, so he got out some paper, and wrote Joon a letter, handing it to the complementary carrier bird (which possessed a sickeningly colorful array of feathers on display at all times) and decided to take a nap before the Symposium began at seven, not wanting to be a tired grouch that evening. He knew these meetings could go on all hours of the night, especially the dinner following it and the social events.

He took off his strict black robes and laid down on the lonely little island of blankets and went off to a thick, dreamless sleep, not moving an inch until the alarm went off for his water to begin magically heating up so he could have some black coffee.

Joon-

_Dearest Joon,_

_I have arrived in Brazil relatively unscathed, the air is humid, and the general room I have received dull beyond words. _

_Though I am neither being robbed, nor being forced into a terrible set of living conditions, I feel something irreplaceable is missing. There's no one to lie on the bed and watch me brew, or to sit in my lap and help me read the paper. No one there to fuss over me when I'm too wrapped up in my reading or brewing to go eat, and I suppose the paranoia about disappointing you by not eating, even when you're not here, will keep me fat as a hog like you seem to want me to be._

_I miss you, and I shall be thinking of you throughout the evening, especially when the discussion about the correct uses of lavender..._

_Wait... look at this! Look at me! I'm getting soppy. You've made me soppy over you._

_Damn it woman. _

_Well, thankfully for you, I'll not have ample time to punish you when I get back to Hogwarts, as the day I get back will be spent sleeping to save up for the staff party._

_I expect this particular meeting to be quite boring, and the speakers to be vapid and dull like my room, and I look forward to Christmas Eve with you._

_~Severus_

Joon smiled at the letter as she read it when it arrived at dinner.

Although it _was_ a good thing he wasn't in a good enough vicinity to 'punish' her, because she had no blasted pregnancy risks any more, as the potion had finally made its self well soaked into her womb, and she had been truly trying her hardest to keep out of Severus' pants the last three days he had been in the castle. She wasn't made of stone, mind you.

Thankfully, she could use this time advantage to not only build up her... stamina, but also to make entirely sure she was groomed and perfect from head to toe.

After her final class the following day (filling in for Severus as was her job as a guidance counselor/general substitute teacher), she snuck off to Hogsmeade (with Albus' permission of course) to the Hogshead Bar (with Aberforth's kind acceptance) and flooed to Diagon Alley to begin her search. Of course, it wasn't the only wizarding street of shops besides Knockturn, and so she went out the back door of Fortescues ice-cream parlor (Florean was a good friend), and into the back door of a small shop that did delivery house décor and was only there to provide real life examples of the magically endowed furniture, and out of it's front door to arrive in an alley which was generally a stereotypical "housewives dream" with cleaning supplies, baby stores, and the like.

She went into the store at its dead end, a frilly thing that sold things that only Janey Umbridge would buy (come to think of it, she may have been the only person keeping it afloat), and swept behind the curtain which was supposed to be a fake window, to her destination street, and she pulled her hood up to match the rest of the street walkers.

It was a custom there to have your hood up, so that your identity, nor the identity of those around you was known. She made her way into one of those shops, and a masked salesclerk with a generic voice approached her.

All of her purchases were put in an unsuspecting brown paper bag. Used by the majority of the shops in the muggle world, and were warded so that only she could open them. After several stops in this fashion, she went back through to Diagon Alley to the big book shop and got a few books of sheet music for Christmas songs, just to brush up, and finally to the winery for the best bottle she could find, which was a decent price and tasted amazing.

She went back to the school, and set her days purchases at the foot of her bed and began the nightly prep after eating a late dinner.

Severus-

The elderly mans' voice droned on and on about - ironically enough - the uses of Lavandula in several potions.

There was a gigantic projector set up to display the current subject of speech in great detail. It was a deep color of purple, the same as Joon's eyes, and it gave him something to focus on, as he was bored out of his mind.

Being the youngest person in a room was something he could stand in a staff meeting, but this was ridiculous! There was one blond headed man who looked to be in his late thirties, and a brunette woman who wasn't much older, but it seemed as though he was the only one from his generation.

A curvy forty year old woman to his left was eyeing him, and it made his spy instincts go mad. He was taken, and she probably just wanted a taste of a younger man before going back to her husband and whiny teen.

He made his way to the small room, dodging all possibility of social interaction, piling himself under the blankets in his now well tempered room (to the same conditions he was used to in the dungeons of his castle home) and got a few good hours of sleep.

Joon-

She awoke at 7, went through her routine, and exited her rooms at 7:17.

Staring at the empty, silent space where Severus should have already been, she sighed.

Walking up to the Great Hall, she sat down next to Pamona and ate breakfast, sipping on the familiar twang of black coffee that always tasted better on his tongue.

She overlooked his classes, making sure there were no utter catastrophes that took the whole castle foundation out from under it, and worked her own classes with fervor, having everyone run around the castle and hit targets with their wands while doing varying things, from walking to riding on brooms.

The staff noticed her backwardness, and took it as a bad omen when she didn't turn up for dinner.

Joon sat in her chair at her desk, writing Severus a long letter about what had happened in the last three days, and a reply to his last missive.

Sending it off, she stared out her window at the setting sun, hoping he was doing alright.

Severus-

A plain barn owl soared into his open window as he paced the floors, debating on his options.

He had the worst time with this meeting, as he had with all of it's predecessors. They had given him the sparsest room because he was the youth of the room, shorted him good wine when he needed it most, and were being fidgety about renewing his Potions Masters Licenses, testing him to see if he deserved them in the first place where elder men and women were simply handing in papers before getting theirs stamped, signed and sealed.

He sat around for a few minutes, and pondered the letter, before opening it and reading the sweet smelling letter from his beloved.

_Dear Severus,_

_I miss you terribly._

_Your classes are going well; I've only had to stop a few cauldrons from exploding, but thankfully none for the upperclassmen. _

_I tried your coffee this morning, and it tastes like it's been run through a boot once or twice, but it reminds me of your secretive morning kisses. Nice to know I'm not the only one getting soppy about us._

_If you need me to, I can send you a few tomes from your shelves, if only to keep you company. I'd hate to be in the rooms you're in, if you can't tell by my choice in décor within my own office. _

_Aunt Adrianna will be leaving just after Christmas to check on her estate and make sure everything's in order before returning, and I expect Albus to pop the question any time now. _

_Your mail has all been forwarded through floo to your rooms, and believe me there's plenty of it piled up on your living room floor. _

_I'll have you know, my regimen for birth control has finally come to a head, and I am now ready when you are, dearest. Something to look forward to as a birthday gift? _

_On that note I must inform you that the Christmas party will have a planned piano battle with Filius, and I don't know If I've shown you or not, but I am fairly good at the instrument. _

_Mr. Einhart from my last job has been acquitted of his assault charges on the pretense of being goaded into it by the idiot who couldn't get rid of his prejudices about the mentally afflicted, and the whole thing was dissolved with a restraining order that the man not come within fifty meters of Mr. Einhart unless life or death emergency is presented._

_I wish you the best for your meetings, and I'll be… preparing for your entrance in the meantime. _

_All my love, Joon_


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: Just so you know fact of the chapter: I came up with "rushing" a bit ago, thinking that it would be cool if someone could forward their motion through space with magic, like taking off at a run, but each step covering over fifty feet or some nonsense like that. It doesn't really pertain to anything, it's more like a mix of a rabbit like speed of being able to launch yourself from the ground in a forward path and keep going, and Voldemorts ability to fly unaided.

CH12: Yule Celebrations.

Joon stared at the entrance hall adamantly. Headmaster Dumbledore told her it would be fine if she went to unlock the gate for Severus, and placed a charm on her to let her know when he arrived.

The buzzing sensation filled her head to the brim and made her quiver in excitement.

She opened the front door and let it close softly, the darkness barely abated by the soft yellow light from the many windows of the Castle.

She "rushed" out to the gate, said the incantation, and opened it.

He was hard to see, black hair, robes, and bag blending in with the night, but he was smiling openly, and his pale face stood out in the black of the night.

She let him into the grounds, locked them properly, and turned around to find him right there, bare inches away. He dropped his bags, and they both launched at each other, crashing in a fury of lips and hands.

Severus-

Hands flitting all over her body, he cupped her arse and the back of her head, kissing her fervently, Joon returning the favor, one arm about the back of his neck, and the other hand in a death grip on the front of his robes, almost growling into his kisses, their tongues warring, sliding over each other hotly. She refused to part for more than a seconds breath before hooking her knee over his hip and nearly pulling him to the ground and continuing with fervor and passion.

They were both finally able to slow down (before either lost control and they'd be there all night), and Severus rested his head on her shoulder, the grass tickling his nose.

"I missed you so badly," Joon whispered, stroking her fingers through his hair lightly, stimulating his scalp.

"Next time, I will have to insist you come along, or I won't be going. To my knowledge only one woman was eyeing me, but I avoided her at all costs."

Joon giggled. "Proves that you're irresistible."

He huffed exaggeratedly and kissed her on the cheek, standing effortlessly and helping her up.

He picked up one bag, failing to steal the lighter one from her stubborn grasp, and they journeyed together to the front door of the castle. A rush of magic falling over him, righting his wrinkled clothes and hair (un-swelling and re-coloring his well snogged lips).

Joon-

They made their way to Severus' rooms, when he captured her in an arm and whispered in her ear "Stay with me tonight," quite seductively.

She began to panic. She had a few days to test the birth control potion so she could be sure she wouldn't get pregnant, and her whole plan was to avoid that as much as possible. Not to mention the fact that she was NOT ready at all.

"You need to get some sleep, you've been at it for ten days now, Severus," Joon made up quickly and smoothed out like it was the natural thing to say.

"Of course, I will admit I am too tired to participate in any… _strenuous _activities tonight," he purred in her ear, sending a delicious shiver up her spine. "I do hope you'll join me for a good few hours of rest."

Inside, she was relieved, although somewhat disappointed, and smiled at him sweetly. "I'll be back in a few minutes, if you don't mind."

She was not just one kind of nervous as she paced back and forth across her carpet, glancing constantly at her closet in the section where her night clothes were.

What would he expect of her to wear? She couldn't wear anything too revealing or he may get the wrong impression, but if it was too frank, he may be displeased.

She settled with something warm, comfortable, and simple, scampering off down the hall before she got caught to slip into Severus' rooms, close the door, and lock the latch.

She felt something warm behind her, and a pair of arms with a smattering of black, masculine hair wrapped around her from behind, and she could already tell he wasn't wearing a shirt.

She turned around in his arms, placing her small hands on his warm, soft skin, running her hands over his flat stomach, nicely toned chest and wirily muscled shoulders. Her eyes met his sleepily, and he smiled, sweeping her up in his arms and whisking her off to his bedroom.

Lying her down, he left her to get comfortable on the side of the bed he didn't usually occupy, and went to stoke the fire, and blow out all of the candles.

Joon couldn't believe she was here! Since the day she saw him in the street, she had dreamed of when she'd lie beside him to sleep at night.

He walked back in, and she got a good look at his night pants, black and practical, like she expected.

He slid between the sheets, and rolled on his side to look at her.

"I love you," he whispered, kissing her on the lips longingly.

"I love you too, good night Severus," she whispered to him, kissing him soundly, and snuggling up to him after he got in his usual sleeping position.

In the middle of the night, Joon woke up to the sound of a whimper. It was right above her head, and for a second, she had no idea what it was until she registered that Severus was sleeping next to her, although she couldn't remember why…

Not minding the details, she watched his face contort in pain for a moment before he sucked in a breath and whimpered again, shifting violently.

She shook him good, rousing him instantly from his slumber, and causing him to reflexively wrap his arms around her as soon as he saw her in the dim glow of the firelight.

He sobbed into her shoulder, and almost immediately went back to sleep, holding her close, but thankfully not too tightly.

She drifted off as well, the wonderful heady scent of all of him lulling her into unconsciousness.

She woke up with something hard pressing right between her legs, making her hot in all sorts of places, from her toes to her cheeks. Severus was still asleep, but his libido was obviously not.

She shifted a little too much making him suck in a breath, and he was awake in an instant, all the way across the bed from her, a stricken look on his face.

"I apologize, if I had known-" he began in a flurry, cheeks red in embarrassment.

"Severus, it's okay. It's just natural. You are lying next to a woman, after all," she smirked, propping her head up on her elbow and smiling innocently over at him.

He considered her for a moment, and shook his head, a light smile on his lips, and scooted back over to her, wrapping his arms around her waist, and kissed her thoroughly.

"Oh, and Severus," she said breathlessly, flipping him over on his back beneath her. "Merry Christmas Eve."

His obsidian eyes were wide, taking in the sight of her sitting on his stomach, hair rumpled and eyes on fire.

She snaked her head down, and kissed him on the tip of his hooked nose, his chin, and his neck, biting down on the side of it on his sweet spot and sucking, licking the red spot it left as he moaned, hissing out his breath as she tended to his wound.

Severus-

Suddenly finding her across the room with a trail of crimson blood down her chin, even after having the blood drawn out of his neck, was entirely sexy.

Her reddened tongue swiped it clean, and she grinned seductively at him, the sway of her hips drawing his disbelieving gaze as she became invisible and walked out the door way.

At breakfast, Joon supped on red wine, smirking at the expression that flitted across his face when some of it dripped down the side of her chin.

There was only one table out, because there were barely enough people staying over the break to fill it. The students were all at one end, with each house mixed together, all of them laughing and playing. The professors were all staying, except for Professors Sinistra and Vector, who were both off to spend time with their families for the remainder of the vacation.

"Severus, how was the symposium?" Minerva asked after ending her conversation with Flitwick.

"Absolutely boring, and not the least bit informative."

"Why, Severus! Surely it wasn't-"

"Bland, boring, colorless, dead, driveling, flat, flavorless, inane, innocuous, insipid, jejune, least, lifeless, limp, milquetoast, tasteless, tedious, tiresome, unimaginative, uninspiring, uninteresting, unpalatable, vacant, vacuous, weak, all to an unrefined point of nauseous incompetence."

Joon giggled at his bland paraphrasing of the dictionary.

Joon-

This whole blatant seduction business was really going to Joons head, but of course, the shallow bit of wine she was having for breakfast may have had some hand in it as well… Never the less, she was quite happy to have Severus as on the edge as possible before his birthday present in two weeks.

Joons attention was drawn to a second year Hufflepuff Metamorphagus who was turning her hair green, red, and white striped. It wasn't the first time she had seen this particular girl, Miss Tonks, show off her abilities, as she usually liked to have bubble gum pink hair.

Joon was lying on her couch in her office, looking over the music books, and found one that was perfect for a surprise.

She walked absently to the book case, stroking the spine of three different books a certain way, and a secret alcove in the wall was revealed, with a baby grand piano sitting there.

She sat down at it, and began to practice.

Later that day, after a great lunch, she walked with Severus down to Slytherin common room to check on the three first years that were down there.

When Joon approached the door, it immediately opened, and she wondered if it was set to recognize its founders' blood.

Within, all three of the boys were playing exploding snap, drinking butterbeer, and digging gleefully into early Christmas candy.

Severus, apparently curious as to how far Joon could go, took her to the tapestry, which guarded Slytherins own Quarters from the days he was alive and teaching.

The tapestry rolled up, and they both entered into the chambers, an amazing array of black opal floor surrounding their feet. The walls had silver and green silk hangings to hide the plain stone. Beautiful crystal chandeliers, a dark mahogany double king sized bed, fine silver tea set, a closet with quite outdated clothing, and an amazing portal window which had a magically created view of the forbidden forest, the sun streaming into the ancient room.

"Joon, I daresay no one else has been in this room for thousands of years."

She nodded, in awe, making sure to drink in every single thing there was to see, because there was a good chance she'd never be able to see it again after they told the Headmaster.

Joon walked over to the bathroom, where a deep stone basin almost as big as a pool was shining in wait of water, the olden days' version of a toilet sat in the corner, and a small basin was in front of a vanity like mirror, obviously a hand washing station.

Severus was still looking around the main room, and stepped into the closet, looking at everything by wandlight.

Suddenly, the fabric attacked him, binding him like snakes, moving faster than he could defend himself. At his strangled yelp, Joon came rushing over, and without thinking about it, just told the fabric "Let him go!"

Severus-

He stared at her incredulously for a moment, and moved slowly out of the closet to stand beside her.

She raised an eyebrow, and asked "What?"

"You spoke Parsletounge just then."

Joon shrugged. "I do that sometimes. There was a snake in my mothers' garden that I used to talk to, but I never realized what it meant until I ran into a half sister of mine who asked me about it."

When they both were out of the room, and the tapestry closed, Severus led Joon out, nodding to the three boys who were still at it and had apparently not noticed where they went. Walking down the hall, Severus realized something.

"A half sister?" he questioned her suddenly.

"Oh, well, er, I'm not the only child the Dark Lord fathered. Um, I believe the head count was fifty-four the last time I checked."

Silence.

"Sorry, I didn't think to say any-"

"I have a half sibling as well. I believe she lives in Cornwall, several years younger than I am. Muggle."

Apparently, from the clipped tone he was using, the conversation was closed.

Joon, looked at Severus in a very worried way that evening, and as they made their way to their dungeon home, she asked him "Would you like to sleep in my room tonight… with me? B-but only if you want to, I don't mean to be too forward."

He regarded her profile in the torch light.

"Why wouldn't I?" he asked her quietly.

"Well, I was h-hoping I d-didn't scare you off earlier, speaking snake tongue, because not even Aunt Adrianna likes it when I do sometimes on accident, and I was just afraid-"

"You're still afraid I'll leave you because of your heritage?"

"Well, sort of, yes. I'm not doubting you, really, even though I am, I'm sorry it's just that sometimes I wake up in the morning and I have to turn on the lights and look at this-" she held up the hand with his promise ring on it, "just to remember that you do want me. I know, you must think me strange-"

"Juniper, I understand where you're coming from. You may not be privy to this, but before we, well, really, Er, came together, I had so many doubts. I didn't know if anybody, especially an angel like yourself, could ever love someone like me. Who had been given the equivalent to the mark of the beast. And then I find out that you're afraid I wouldn't spit in your direction because you're his biological offspring, even though you should hate every fiber in my being because at one troubled time in my life, I did agree with his ways, the ways that you fight against daily. At anytime," he moved closer to her and wrapped his arm around her waist, causing them to stop mid stride right in front of her door, "if you need me to reassure you, I shall endeavor to do so the best I can." He kissed her deeply with an undercurrent of reassurance, dragging his tongue across the roof of her mouth as he exited to draw back and look her in the eye, not missing the shudder of her shoulders.

"Of course, I am be honored to be welcomed into your quarters, my dear; I shall retrieve my nightclothes and be back within the next few minutes."

He left in a flurry of swishing robes to whip out his ebony wand and undo the wards on his door, opening it for himself, and entering without breaking stride.

She entered her own rooms, lighting the candles, making a fire (warding the pesky floo for good measure), and casting a cleaning charm to pick up any clothes she may have left lying about in her haste. The bed was made, with the covers pulled back on both sides, her bookshelves in perfect order, and the books lying around she supposed could be left open for his interest.

She went into the wardrobe, and picked out a pair of blue and white striped night pants and an old blue shirt.

As she put on her socks, someone knocked at her door, and she went to see who it was.

Severus stepped over the threshold in a black night robe, which he took off and put on the coat rack. She ran her fingers over his thin, toned chest and smattering of dark hair.

"I have to say, I like your tastes," he told her, eyeing the large bookshelves with tomes missing, that were sure to be the ones strewn in odd places on the coffee table, chair arms, and foot rests, all open to different pages in waiting for their owner to come back to them.

The few differences between this space and her office was the layout of the furniture, which was more numerous, the carpet was larger covering almost the entire floor, the fire place was grander, and there were three exits.

One of these was barred by a thick door, with several locks and an almost impregnable unicorn horn surface. The second, was a small water closet for general use. The third, was obviously the bedroom, as he could see the vanity and mahogany bedpost from where he stood.

"What's that door for?" he asked her, as she stood back to allow him to see the room for himself.

"Oh, that's my, er, panic room. If I'm ever outraged to a certain point, everything starts to, um, implode and I have to be away from people. It's made to keep me and my magic in there, and anybody who could get hurt out here. Needless to say, it's the safest place for me to go to practice, hone my skills if I want to create new spells or perfect a way to do one I already know."

Severus was nodding in approval. She had it all planned out.

Walking over to her bookshelves, he saw books on every subject he could think of. There were some books he had himself, and some he'd only heard of, some so dark that it was obvious the books next to it were there to suck in the energies it released while keeping it at bay, and a set of Psychology books on people from birth to yon of 400 years, as that was the age of the eldest human so far, Nicholas Flammel. Of course, the last few books were all on adulthood and the extremely elderly and were much shorter than those in the beginning about infants and children.

He looked at some of the photos of a very young Joon at about ages seven to fifteen, receiving awards or playing with her mother, whom he'd never seen before, but had been aptly described, even though she looked nothing like Joon.

There were odd little knickknacks in front of some of the pictures, for instance one had Joon looking curiously at a rock in her mothers' hands, and the rock was on a velvet cushion, cut in half to show its insides, which were beautiful crystals.

"Do you miss your mother much?" he knew it was a bad question to ask, but he'd never had the opportunity to know his own mother well enough because his father had banished both of them, and their fleeting times together had been holding each other when he was small, and all were spent in silence so as not to alert him of their presence together.

"Sometimes, yes, but I feel like it was better that she died; like she gave herself up so I could have a better life, even though it was a horrible virus that was prone to witches in the seventies in America. If she hadn't left, my step-father never would have stopped hurting me out of grief because I reminded him of her, he would have never moved to Whales to get as far away from my Aunt who wanted me to live with her, I wouldn't have been able to escape him to go to Britain to start my new life, and I wouldn't have gone through the crazy confusing process of seven years to end up here with you." Joon smiled over at him reassuringly, a spark of curiosity and remembrance in her eyes.

Severus had already unloaded on her the sad story of his childhood, his mother, his father, all the way up to when he'd felt the mark on his arm fade to gray.

"It's getting late, would you like to go to bed?" he asked her lightly, turning towards the door. She nodded, and closed her hand around his, leading him to her bed.

A/N:

Hello! I've only changed a few things and I am SO sorry for being in the dark for ever, I've been busy in the extreme but I'll be getting on to the next few chapters shortly. I love you guys still! :)


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: I am a horrible person, with waiting. And teasing in this chapter.

CH13: Christmas Music

Joon-

She woke up in a haze, looking up at Severus' sleeping form. He was wrapped around her at an odd angle, his chin on her head, and his feet directly beneath hers, spooned against her comfortably.

He wasn't roused at all when she turned over on her back, but finally released her after having a good poke in the ribs, which made him squirm. Interesting.

She slipped silently out of bed, but failed in making her way to the bathroom in the same manner, because she tripped over the small hill of presents on her side of the bed. This fumble resulted in a loud crash, and her shirt flying up around her head unceremoniously, waking him.

He peered over the side of the bed groggily at Joon's fabric covered, shapely bottom, grinning amusedly at her expense, as she groaned and got up on all fours, leaning back into a respectable sitting position.

The gifts were multicolored, and she looked over them with a light interest, slowly allowing her eyes to lock onto Severus'.

He looked over the other side of the warm bed to his own respectable number of gifts and motioned for her to re-join him on the bed.

Settling comfortably in the covers, he used his wand to summon a present at a time from each pile, usually from the same person.

McGonagall got Severus a new pair of warm socks, with a note "I'd hate for your feet to freeze in that dungeon, trolling about for points to take from my house," and Joon received a bottle of very pretty smelling perfume.

Hagrid gave them each a pile of rock cakes with seasons' greetings, and Severus did well to warn Joon of the man's terrible cooking.

The rest of the professors collectively gave them each a good stack of books, Joon's on different interesting branches of Philosophy and Psychology, and Severus' on Potions and the Dark Arts.

Joon grinned at Severus as his present from her landed in his lap.

He opened it, and nearly fell over from shock at what was within the large box.

It was three vials of Re'em blood which was a rare strengthening substance, laid upon a blanket of what looked to be woven Re'em fur, which would not tarnish, nor be cut.

"Aunt Adrianna may be a southern woman, but she and her husband made their fortune in the northern states and Canada with their farm of Re'em. She had over fifteen when I was there to visit her several years ago."

He was totally dumbstruck, looking back over at her, and summoned her present from a drawer in his room.

The long, thin package was about as long as her arm as Joon drew it to her.

She tore into the wrapper enthusiastically, her mouth forming an 'o' when she saw what was inside.

A beautiful sword, meant to holster a wand within to be controlled from a distance lay on old paper, shined and sharpened by its goblin makers, the words "_Lethifold Slayer_" engraved into the blade.

"This was used to kill a Lethifold?" she asked him quietly.

"Yes it was the only Lethifold recorded to have been killed by a human. Of course very specific and special magic was used, but the properties of the substance a Lethifold has within it was imbibed within the blade, so it would be best not to get cut, as nobody really knows what it does," he told her simply. It had been a gift from Lucius for joining the Dark Lord, and he figured she would enjoy it more than he, in all her charming quirkiness.

She set it carefully on the table beside her, and set aside his box as well before pouncing on him and kissing him fiercely, settling on his lap and teasingly wriggling about on his forming erection.

He groaned almost warningly into her mouth, as they were only separated by four thin pieces of fabric, and their heat was evident.

He ground up into her, pulling her hips down firmly on his to keep her from escaping.

She sucked in a breath, the pleasure pulsating down from her stomach to her center.

"You are an unrestrained vixen, my dear, with that trick you pulled earlier yesterday, I haven't been able to stop thinking about you."

He kissed her swollen lips, biting into them slightly before giving a good hard twisting thrust, making her cry out.

The magic was thick in the air as she blushed deep scarlet, unable to restrain her need.

He rolled over on top of her, growling deeply and licking her soft pale neck so he could hear her moan.

He pushed up her old shirt to her bare white breasts, palming one and licking the other before sucking hard enough to leave a mark.

Joon was nearly blind with lust as she butted her pelvis up against his and ground hard, searching for release as he pulled her shirt off all the way. He bit into her neck as he tore her sleeping pants off, running his hands up and down her smooth legs, and kissing his way down the middle of her breasts to her navel before she realized what he was about to do.

He saw the small simple pair of slightly damp underwear and ripped them off with his teeth, finally finding what he'd been wanting.

Joon was in heaven, having not had any sort of non-self implemented release in at least five years.

Severus apparently had some idea of what he was doing, or was simply a _very_ talented man, because he had a hold of both of her thighs, keeping them apart and holding her hips down from bucking too hard into his nose (which was doing wonderful things to her at the moment as he licked her mercilessly), and brought her directly to her first orgasm in about two months.

He crawled his way up her spent, glowing body and plunked down beside her, kissing her softly after licking his wet lips.

She decided he needed something too, as he was a man, and having her opening that close and ready must have been torture.

Joon, of course, had some back of the mind knowledge about male genitalia, their functions, and how they were stimulated, and had even done so once herself when she was a teenager, but she went in warily, as she crept up over him, suddenly pulling his arms magically to the wall with black silk ropes to keep him from moving.

His eyes flew open, staring at her wildly as she did the same to his legs and pulled down his night pants and underwear quickly.

"What are you-?"

"You didn't think you'd be left alone, did you?"

That evening was spent in a haze of silly festivities until it was time for the remaining students to go to bed, and the real party to begin.

Everyone headed to the Room of Requirement, summoning their things as they walked as a group, Joon and Severus in the back, her hand tucked in the crook of his arm.

Her piano books flew to her, and she caught them with ease, tucking them under her arm and grinning at Severus. He smiled back (which of course in such mixed company comprised of a subtle lifting of the sides of his lips).

Inside of the large room, a beautiful baby grand piano was situated on a short platform in the corner, a long table with refreshments and snacks was at the back, and the rest was decorated perfectly for the season.

Joon made a beeline for the piano, dragging Severus along with her, and opening the lid.

He looked confused as she handed him a book and situated the rest on the stand.

"Well, don't just stand there, sit down and pick one!" she told him flatly.

Severus, knowing full and well he probably looked a bit odd half bent over a piano, did as he was told, flipping the worn leather book to a random page and sitting it in its proper spot.

Joon looked it, and allowed her fingers to rest on the magically warmed black and white ivory lovingly before beginning Greensleeves.

The party went on, the many faculty members mingling and talking about everything one could dream of.

Nobody danced, of course, and Severus was content to sit by Joon as she played a bit.

When the fifth piece ended, most of the staff were quite inebriated from a mix of the punch and sherry, so several started catcalling for Joon to sing. She blushed madly, and knew that if it wasn't for the wine she'd had earlier, she wouldn't even dream of what she was about to do. She knew her voice was alright, as no one had complained over the years, and she was itching to try out a song she'd heard over the radio once.

She took a deep breath and played the short intro on the piano:

"You've been on my mind  
I grow fonder every day,  
Lose myself in time  
Just thinking of your face  
God only knows  
Why it's taken me so long  
To let my doubts go  
You're the only one that I want

I don't know why I'm scared, I've been here before  
Every feeling, every word, I've imagined it all,  
You never know if you never try  
To forgive your past and simply be mine"

Severus was sitting up attentively, if not swaying a bit to the tune (He'd imbibed at least a full pint), and was looking at her avidly with wonder.

I dare you to let me be your, your one and only  
Promise I'm worthy to hold in your arms  
So come on and give me the chance  
To prove that I'm the one who can  
Walk that mile until the end starts

If I've been on your mind  
You hang on every word I say  
Lose yourself in time at the mention of my name  
Will I ever know how it feels to hold you close?  
And have you tell me whichever road I choose you'll go

I don't know why I'm scared 'cause I've been here before  
Every feeling, every word, I've imagined it all,  
You'll never know if you never try  
To forgive your past and simply be mine

I dare you to let me be your, your one and only  
I promise I'm worthy to hold in your arms  
So come on and give me the chance  
To prove that I'm the one who can  
Walk that mile until the end starts

I know it ain't easy, giving up your heart  
I Know it ain't easy, giving up your heart

(Nobody's perfect, trust me I've learned it)  
I know it ain't easy, giving up your heart  
(Nobody's perfect, trust me I've learned it)  
I know it ain't easy, giving up your heart  
(Nobody's perfect, trust me I've learned it)  
I know it ain't easy, giving up your heart  
(Nobody's perfect, trust me I've learned it)  
I know it ain't easy, giving up your heart

So I dare you to let me be your, your one and only  
I promise I'm worthy to hold in your arms  
So come on and give me a chance  
To prove that I'm the one who can  
Walk that mile until the end starts  
Come on and give me a chance  
To prove that I'm the one who can  
Walk that mile until the end starts."

Severus had his head propped up on his elbow on the side of the piano, and several of the professors applauded her, ending their slow dance.

"I believe I can," he told her in a tone no one else could hear, smiling on the side of his face the other people in the room couldn't see.

Joon gave him a small blushing smile.

After the party, the staff went to bed (as it was well into midnight).

Severus had his arm around her, grinning unabashedly and talking with her.

"Would you like to stay with me again tonight?"

"Mm, sure," she replied, smiling over at him knowingly.


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: To you. From me. ;) This chapter won't be pure smut, but I do warn you to skip to the next chapter at the beginning of the sentence ""He's decided to stay in here and sulk all day, but I'll keep him company, make sure he's fed," she told him nonchalantly."

Enjoy…

CH14: The Birthday Gift

Severus-

Severus Snape normally didn't celebrate his birthday. It was a well known (or rather, well known to the four people who knew its date) fact that he simply detested celebrating the day, and so he was not expecting Joon to wake him up lightly with a kiss that morning.

She had him a breakfast for two in bed laid out on a serving tray across his lap, with a full English breakfast comprising of bacon, fried eggs, grilled tomatoes, fried mushrooms, toast with butter, sausages, baked beans, and a mug of steaming black coffee.

She even had the audacity to put a small chocolate cake at the end nearest him with a candle on it, previously lit, black and gray striped.

"What do you think you're doing?" he asked her, a little dumbstruck.

"You were born today silly, mister twenty six! I hope you remembered, because I couldn't keep it off my mind!"

"Well… You had better not sing me that ridiculous song, I can't bear it."

Joon seemed not to listen as she slid into the covers next to him, picking up a fork and getting some of the fried tomatoes she must have realized he didn't enjoy much and eating them in three bites.

He ate his breakfast in comfort as she fed him by levitating the other fork and using magic to put food in his mouth.

After they were done, Albus flooed them from the living room, but Joon was far too quick for a full, groggy Severus, and stole his wand, warding the bedroom and summoning his bed coat all in one go.

He heard Albus' voice as he asked Joon "How is Severus, I know today is not usually his favorite day, and he didn't show up for breakfast."

"He's decided to stay in here and sulk all day, but I'll keep him company, make sure he's fed," she told him nonchalantly.

Joon-

Albus' eyes twinkled, and he smiled, nodding in assent before closing off the connection.

Joon walked back and forth with her bare toes on the carpet, nervous but ready.

She did the proper charms, and took a deep breath, opening the doors to his bedchambers, simultaneously warding the floo and the doors.

Severus-

He thought he'd die.

Joon was leaned against the door frame in a dark blue lingerie set, barely covered by a see through night set.

Her expression was one of pure lust as she surveyed him, sitting on the bed with his eyes wide, staring at her.

Her hips, which he'd admired on many occasions, were accentuated by the cut of the lacy knickers.

His mouth went dry as she walked towards him, almost prowling as though stalking her prey.

Despite his attempts to keep calm, he was already half up.

His breathing almost stopped when she crawled up on the bed with him, right up between his legs, her thigh brushing the tip of his erection, and licked her lips as she looked into his dark eyes, her own almost totally black with purple in a thin halo around the enlarged pupils.

He was totally still as she brushed her warm, wet, plump lips across his, teasing him with her thigh.

Finally, he could not take it any longer, and claimed her lips passionately, a war of tongues and teeth and flesh making it's way down onto the pillows.

He grabbed her and flipped them over quickly, laving his tongue on her neck, making her moan. He only broke the kiss to relieve her of the pesky silken fabric before running his hands up along her things, hips, and waist, and finally to her breasts, locked in confinement in a prison of dark blue silken lace, which was ridded easily with the flick of a finger on the meager piece of thread keeping the two cups together.

Massaging one breast, he kissed the other, sucking hard after enveloping the rosy pink nipple in his mouth.

She apparently enjoyed this attention as she arched her back up into him, making her hips contact his.

He ground into her soaked mons hard and sucked on her flushed breast in unison, making her whimper and cry out his name, "Severus! Don't stop!"

She fought to relieve him of his night trousers and boxers as he did her flimsy lacy knickers, before finally making skin to skin contact in all the right places.

She kissed him fiercely running her hands all along his pale back and chest, wrapping her legs around his waist and rubbing herself against his swollen cock, gasping and moaning with pleasure.

He positioned himself over her entrance, waiting until she gave him a signal.

She cried out "Oh, Severus please!" gyrating her hips into his, pleading for him.

He felt the waves of possessiveness claim him, and as he drove into her for the first time, absolute pleasure coursing through him, a feeling of wholeness dominating his senses as the smell, the flavor, and the feeling of his skin sliding against hers became his whole world for what seemed like forever.

He could feel her orgasm coming up as surely as he could feel his own building, and sought harder, pressing up against her cervix, hearing her sweet impassioned voice yell "Severus!" over and over again until they hit home, and he collapsed on top of her, spent and exhausted. Deciding that it would be a good idea not to crush her, he lazily rolled off of her, covering them up with a sheet, and pulling her to him, both of them breathing heavily.

"Happy Birthday Severus," she mumbled to him, smiling as she drifted off to sleep.


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: Meh. Last chapter wasn't my _best _possible smut, but I decided it's not important to the plot, so oh well.

CH15: Love

Joon-

Waking up naked that evening in Severus' arms, sore in all the right places for the first time was surely an experience she would never forget.

His slightly scarred chest was warm against her cool hands as she traced along the fading lines, both indented and raised. The dark mark on his arm, now a dismal gray against his pale skin, was against her ribcage as he held on to her in his sleep. His muscles were not overly defined, but wiry, a flat hard stomach and barely defined pectorals from the strenuous workout dueling with both the best and the vilest offered.

She smelled the air with every breath, the aroma of sex, a hint of sweat, and his own personal smell of freshly turned earth and the soap he used. The blankets were a little rough, but comfortable to be on, his skin smooth with a light smattering of dark hair, and his breathing in and out deep and even.

All was well.

Severus-

He was sore from using muscles he hadn't in really what seemed like forever, and wonderfully comfortable with his witch in his arms, her head against his chest. It was a pleasant, albeit unexpected, gift from her, the best he could have asked for. Although she was no virgin, she had given herself to him completely, and it was a wonderful feeling to have something that was wholly his, not borrowed, not stolen, not half owned by another, _his._

Joon stirred slightly, and he spared a peek to see what she was up to, running her somewhat chilly hands up and down his chest, tracing his blemishes across his chest.

Her eyes drew his attention, deep cerulean, almost as though the red in them had entirely receded. She was calm, and looked happy.

"Enjoying yourself?" he asked in a half whisper.

"Mmhm," she replied sleepily, looking up at him here eyes full of love for him.

"You know, this has to have been the best birthday present I've ever been given. It'll be hard to top, that's for sure."

Her light laughter filled both the room and his mind for its duration, and she wiggled about until she was closer, and all he could see were her eyes, the tips of their noses touching. She looked at his face, smiling lazily, rubbing the tip of her nose against his before kissing him softly on the lips, his arms tightening around her midsection for a split second.

"I love you Severus," she told him, her eyes following her finger as she traced over his mouth.

He stilled their movement, taking her smaller hands in his and kissing them.

"I love you too, Juniper."

For weeks, Joon stayed in Severus' rooms, or vice versa, either talking or making love every night, leaving the rest of the world outside of their rooms, alone together.

Minerva was eyeing them oddly at meals, as it was unusual even for them to make as much conversation as they were, although it wasn't unusual in it's subjects or the way it was carried out. Sometimes they would sit in silence, and Joon would somehow know which of what to pass him that was closest to her for each thing they ate, and he would somehow know the same thing.

Joon seemed more lenient in classes, the general schedule given by the ministry going smoothly, and Severus no longer shouted at his class, allowing _slightly_ more points to each house that wasn't Gryffindor, giving the students _somewhat _more in depth directions, and being _slightly_ less harsh on papers. _Slightly_ (this is Severus we're talking about).

It was a rainy Monday in March when Severus was unwittingly pulled into a party planning meeting in the teachers' lounge, the door shut firmly behind him.

"Okay everybody," Pamona announced as Minerva and Aurora put up wards to block out the sound, "Sunday is Joons birthday. What are we going to do?"

He could tell they were all trying to best what Joon had already done for those who had already had birthdays.

Minerva had been carted off the weekend after hers to a Scottish countryside resort, watching a set of Scottish Games, serenaded by the bagpipes, and catered to her every whim. Not long after, Filius was shipped to the world finals to watch the biggest Charms Competition in the world. She'd even given Irma a trip to the Grecian National Library for a week (taking over her duties in the library of course).

Severus knew it would be hard, but it was possible to top her.

"What are we going to do? What does she like?" with these words, the collective room turned to him. He immediately smirked.

"It doesn't matter. Not really. She would be happy going to a corner ice cream shop and a walk in the park as long as _I'm_ there. Hell, the Museum on the History of the Evolution of the chicken would interest her, she's not picky."

Minerva narrowed her eyes at him. "You're making this hard on purpose, aren't you?"

His smirk became slightly more wolfish.

"Of course I am. I can't have you lot giving her a better birthday present than I?" he replied slyly. "And; no trips; we'll be gone that weekend, so you have either that Friday, or the following morning. Pick."

Walking out of the room full of wary, unhappy people, he could barely contain his near glee at their dumbfoundedness. There was no way they could throw her some great party or give her a gift that would be greater than his! They didn't know her well enough.

"Severus, what are you up to?" Joon asked him as he led her in the dead of the night that Friday towards the double doors of the castle entrance.

"You'll see," he replied cryptically.

They made it across the lawn and out of the gates in no time, and apparated into a set of rooms.

"Sleep now, we'll be able to explore in the morning."

Joon looked so confused, but obliged anyways.

Joon-

She woke up in a heap of flesh and blankets (as they had taken to sleeping without clothes on), in unusually warm weather compared to what she was used to. Allowing her memories o come back to her, she registered that Severus had taken her somewhere that night, and now she wanted to know where that was exactly.

Grabbing a sheet to cover herself in this strange environment, she looked around the sunlit room. The furnishings were all in a light, airy blue, the curtains of the open French doors fluttering in a cool breeze.

She walked barefooted to the opening and peered out. They were on an island.

The sun was barely above the surface of the watery horizon, casting an orangey glow on her skin.

She felt a pair of warm arms encircle her, a hard surface meet her back.

As her lover ran his hands over the planes of her stomach, she turned her amethyst gaze upon the emerald mountain ridge in the center of the isle, and the beach, several hundred yards of nearly flat pale sand with tropically blue waters.

"Where are we?" she asked him thoughtfully, sucking in a breath as his nimble hands found her breasts and the apex of her thighs.

"Alone in paradise."


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: This has light smut for the first few paragraphs, by the way.

The reason this is such a short chapter is because there needed to be a separation of events, and I really want to get to the bridge to the main fic, so bear with me as I barrel through the next six months of the story.

CH16: Alone in Paradise, Surrounded by Trouble

Severus-

"Oh," Joon whimpered as he drew the sheet off of her body and pressed his unclothed erection in between her thighs.

"Yes, all alone, not a living soul on the rest of the island, save the occasional bird or sea creature. Just you and I." Severus slipped his fingers into the folds of her quim, massaging her breast and circling her clit languorously.

She moved back against him, bliss overtaking her senses.

"All alone," she echoed, lifting her hands to run them through his hair as he licked her sensitive places on her neck and shoulder.

Joon-

The island itself was quite large, and Joon decided not to ask about the true location, or where he got it from, or whose house it was they were in, and just leave it all to the wind so she could truly enjoy herself.

There was a pair of palm trees at the edge of the forest path up to the mountain where a swing hung from the both of them, and a hot spring at the top of the mountain, warmed by the volcanic pocket beneath the island.

Joon never ran out of things to do, there were a number of exotic gardens all over the island, Severus now had quite the stamina in bed (on the beach, against a tree, where ever they happened to be when the mood struck), the water was clear and there was a small reef off the beach where colorful fish swam to be seen, and the full pantry was stocked with all of her favorites.

For the two days they were there, they were never once interrupted by the owl post.

Mary-

It was a normal day in St. Mungo's, not a soul in sight with anything worse than a missing leg or a transfigured limb. Mary Macdonald, Healer, was in charge of the pregnancy prevention department that week, and decided that in the slump of 'business' she would check over the stores, mark their current potency, etc.

Walking into the cold room, she checked over the stasis charms, noting their absence. _That's odd _she thought to herself, going through all of the potions, tallying up the ruined batches. By the looks of the potions, the charms had not been really checked in months, and _all _of the contraceptive potions were ruined.

The Head of the Department had to be told.


	17. Chapter 17

A/N: So I've pretty much powered through to May, where the last chapter was in March. Lots of things will be happening in the next few chapters and I'll try to keep it all together, but if you get confused, don't hesitate to tell me, and I'll try to clear things up. As usual, if you spot any inconsistencies, please notify me immediately, I want to make this as good as I can before I move on to the next part. Thanks!

CH17: Askance

Severus-

After working on murals with her class, sitting on her knees, crouching over paintings, and drawing with the children, Joon's back was beyond pain as she fell over face down on her and Severus' bed.

Severus came in after she had a nap (unable to go on), and asked her worriedly "What ails you my dear?"

She moaned "My back is dying. Could you cut it off for me?"

He sighed, taking off his teaching robes and sat down on the bed next to her, turning himself so he could comfortably move himself the way he needed to.

Gently tapping her side with his wand, her shirt and brassiere disappearing to the foot of the other side of the bed, he rolled up his sleeves and began to kneed her soft, knotted flesh with his nimble fingers.

She relaxed fully, sighing in contentment and sinking into bliss.

He smiled to himself, purposefully getting rid of her pants (leaving undergarments for his own purposes) and moved his hands down her thighs and calves, succinctly putting her to sleep.

He lightly rolled her over, her brassiere returning, and looked at her stomach. He had noticed it's slight pooch, and it worried him. She was also more sensitive to pain, and her mood had been a bit off kilter lately. He pressed his fingertips to the swell, directly between her hips, and allowed his magic to seep through her skin, feeling an extra heartbeat within.

"Impossible," he whispered to himself.

As he covered her with sheets to combat the slight chill of the dungeons, he thought of the letter he had seen.

_Severus sat in her office, waiting for her to return from the emergency with Peeves, shortly after their return from the island. An owl came through the window, and gave him a letter._

"_Dear Miss Gray,_

_We are sorry to inform you that the most recent batches of your contraceptive potions were improperly stored due to a mistake by our staff. If you need to avoid pregnancy at all costs, do not have intercourse until we have re-started you on your regimen. We do not know how far back the potions have been ruined, and we are terribly sorry for this issue, as we take full responsibility._

_-Healer M. Sadler, Head of the Department of Pregnancy and Infant Care, St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries"_

_He was confused, and worried. She had mentioned being on a potion, and they had had plenty of sex, so that could have meant… No. No, it wasn't possible. She would have noticed. They'd be fine… He hoped. _

His mind raced with the possibility that he had made a child. He was not a fit parent! He knew if he did what his parents did not, then surely the child would turn out better than he had, but that was besides the point. They weren't married yet (Merlin! Minerva would slaughter him!), she probably had no idea, and where would he care for her during the summer months? Surely not Hogwarts.

His home was not currently fit for inhabitation of anybody but one crude, introverted bookworm, but it would have to do. He would need to take a weekend or two and go renovate it on the inside magically to par.

And marriage?! He had planned to marry Joon after at least a year if she would have him, but he guessed he would have to hurry along the process before she began to show too much. He would not have her reputation ruined over his foolish mistake.

He walked over to his fireplace, and quickly flooed himself to Dumbledore's office.

When he saw that the room was empty but for him and the elderly man, he said "Albus, I plan to marry Joon as soon as soon as possible."

Suddenly none other than Adrianna came out of Albus' rooms in the back of his office and put her hands on her hips.

"Would it have anything to do with the fact that she's with child?" She asked coldly, looking at Severus like he was the devil himself.

He was surprised. "How did you know?"

"She was asleep the other day on my couch and her shirt came up. She had been complaining of joint and muscle ache, same as her mother, and was having random bouts of magical surges turning things odd colors, sneezing bubbles and the like. It's obvious," She replied bluntly. "Are you only marrying her because you think it's right for the child?" He knew she was referring to Joon's mother and her step father, Lucas.

"No, madam, I had planned on asking eventually, but I suppose if she'll have it we can go ahead and have it done before she begins to show enough to notice. I have my own home to stay in for the summer, and enough funds from teaching to provide for her and the child. I promise to do more than my best for them."

She scrutinized him harshly. "IF she says yes, I will plan and provide the wedding," he fought not to shudder at the word. Marriage, he wanted. A wedding? not so much.

He nodded succinctly. If Joon wanted one, she would certainly get one. He could refuse her nothing.

He paced through the halls, the library, and the school grounds for at least an hour before finally summing up what he needed to say, and that he would have to say it while he still had something left of his gumption.

Joon-

Down in the dungeons, Joon looked in her large wardrobe mirror at her half-naked self. She noticed how bloated she looked, and supposed it was just a side effect of missing her period from the birth-control potion. It had happened once before.

She heard the floo activate, and the familiar sound of dragon hide boots hit the floor.

She didn't turn around, and allowed Severus to circle his arms about her, kissing her on the shoulder.

"You seem troubled, what's wrong?" She asked him, noticing the look in his eyes as he watched her scantily clad body through the mirror.

"I have many, _many_ questions to ask, but nowhere to start them," He sighed.

She turned and looked at him thoughtfully.

He walked to his armchair and sat down heavily, looking at her nervously through his curtain of black.

She wrapped a blanket around her to protect her exposed skin from the cold shock of his many buttons and got up in his lap, turned sideways.

"You can ask me anything you like."

"Can you stand to be around me for extended periods of time?" He asked her quietly, almost like a prayer. She nodded sweetly.

"Do you believe we'll be with each other for... as long as we can?" his voice got quieter. She caught wind of where he was headed, and fought back tears. She nodded again.

"Do you believe me with all your heart when I tell you I love you, and I would do anything for you, that I can deny you absolutely nothing?" He whispered into her ear so softly, she couldn't stop tears from coming out of her eyes. She nodded slowly, her heart beginning to pound.

"I want to be with you forever, a thousand lives over," he told her, kissing her tears away, "and I couldn't begin to speak of how whole, and alive you make me feel. I can never get enough of you, and although we've only known each other for such a short amount of time, I can't picture a future without you in it." He told her. She was wide eyed, her large pupils twinkling madly, tears flowing freely, and he could feel the fast, hard thudding of her heart through his thick sleeves.

"Juniper Alexandra Gray, will you marry me?"


	18. Chapter 18

A/N: Sorry I skipped the wedding. Need to be over with this. It is now the end of July, if you must know.

CH18: Twenty Milliseconds can be a Lifetime

Joon-

Juniper Alexandra Gray Snape's rounded stomach preceded her as she walked about the castle, waiting for Severus to be done with his meeting with the Headmaster.

The sun was shining; the flowers were in bloom; the giant squid happily basking in the shallows. It all seemed like such a beautiful day.

Her husband, tall dark and brooding, walked by her side, arm in arm as they took a walk around the grounds, stretching their legs from the many hours of sitting and lying from the Doctors office, her morning sickness, and the meeting.

"What would you like to do this evening?" she asked him.

"I don't know. We could go to dinner in London," he replied smoothly, looking directly at her glowing face, not watching where he led them.

"Ooh, that sounds nice. I think I'm in the mood for Italian this evening…" It was true; her tastes had varied since earlier in the month, from Chinese Lo-Mein to American foods he'd had to make trips by Portkey to retrieve.

Joon stumbled suddenly, twisting her ankle on a shiny object in the grass.

"Joon! Are you-"

Severus-

An intense light emanated from the object, and Joon looked wildly from it at her feet, to Severus, seeming to make a decision, suddenly casing a shield around herself and the object, keeping him from it's power.

He beat his fists against the shield, unable to hear his own screams as a loud sonic boom erupted and they were gone.

His child and his wife. Gone. His love. His life.

His heart hurt. It hurt worse than when Lily had died. His whole body became useless and sore, the pain searing him to the bone. He'd had it. A life of his own, full of happiness, and love. Slipped through his fingers like sand. GONE.

He crawled to where the shape of her form was still imprinted in the grass and wept. He couldn't see, he couldn't hear, he could only cry like a wounded animal. He wasn't meant to be happy.

In the blackness of his bone crunching despair, a pair of familiar hands wrapped around his middle, and he was pulled into a comfortable lap, weeping against the chest provided. He stopped to breathed, choking on his own tears. The smell. _Her smell._

Severus wiped his eyes on his own handkerchief that the person had pulled from his sleeve, and looked up at his comforter.

A pair of warm purple eyes leaking salty water, the same he'd just looked into not long before, gazed back at him, filled with longing and compassion.

"Severus. I'm here," said her voice, her hand caressing his face in wonder.

He watched as though in a dream as she held the offending object he so wanted to destroy up from a pocket. The missing Time Turner they had been discussing in the meeting. It was now shattered, the sand had run out, and the delicate gears were all mashed up.

"I went back in time, you see. Seven years. I had our baby, our little girl, and she's here too. I'm here. Finally I'm here!" she whispered, magic leaking around the time turner and it disappeared from existence before his eyes.

"This can't be real," he challenged her quietly, disbelief written all over his face as large tears rolled down his sharp cheekbones from red rimmed eyes.

"On our wedding night, you sang me to sleep," she whispered to him. Nobody else would have known. They were the only ones in the house, their house. "The same song your mother sang you to sleep with when you were little. The same song I sang our daughter to sleep with for seven years."

He stared openly at this angel beside him.

"What did you name her, our daughter?"

"You'll be mad at me for snap judgment, but you know my favorite children's play has always been Peter Pan. And after all the pain and pushing, it was the only thing to come to my mind. Wendy is still a little girl, black wavy hair and my eyes. She likes to read books about magic, has a natural ability for wandless magicks, and she _loves_ for me to tell her about you. She's curious about you, you know. Just after we left the Headmasters Office, I brought her in there and asked her to wait for us. She might want to ask you a lot of questions."

Severus was in a daze as his not pregnant, oddly dressed (in muggle clothes) wife led him to the place he'd only been before, but she had not been in nearly a decade.

He tried to process all this information as they walked, and Joon (always the practical prepared wife) put him to rights, getting the grass off his clothes and setting his hair straight, when suddenly she stopped him in the hall.

He watched in confusion as Joon leaned towards him tentatively, almost afraid to be so close to him. Placing her lips over his, as though she hadn't kissed him in many years, but of course, she'd as well as said she hadn't. Her lips were soft against his, and in the chaos of what had been happening, they were a life saver. It was home, and he leaned into the contact, forgetting for a moment she had technically been gone for several years from him, and embraced her passionately.

She was breathing harshly when he let her go, blushing like it was nobody's business, and licked her lips. "Seven years of abstinence. Nobody was there. I had nobody. How I've missed you," she whispered, more tears of joy falling down her cheeks, running her fingers over his face, the cold of her wedding band dragging across his lip as her fingertips traveled across their original, unusual shape.

Wendy-

One Professor Albus Dumbledore was a peculiar old man, but he has lots of books and odd toys, so she didn't pay too much attention to him. He wore Wizard Robes, purple with stars and moons all over, a matching hat, and high heeled boots with shiny buckles, had long silver hair, lots of wrinkles, and half moon glasses perched on the crook of his nose (like the one Uncle Max had, from being broken).

Wendy Alexandra Snape was the normal size of a six year old girl, although somewhat skinnier and taller than most. She had pretty purple eyes, darker than her mothers, and the same face as her mother, almost exactly, but she had her fathers' ears, hair color, and body type.

Wendy giggled at the Put-Outer, playing with it with a candle, hiding the candle and letting the ball of light dance around the room. The Professor watched her over his half rimmed glasses as she tested it out, watching how it worked, and she finally really spoke to him. Her American accent, he expected it seemed.

"My mama, Joon, she told me you are a really smart, important, powerful wizard, is that true?"

"Yes."

"Can I see your wand?" she implored, giving him an adorable look.

"I suppose it couldn't hurt…" he said warily, handing her the wooden stick.

She waved it around, sparks coming out.

"I know a spell, do you want to see it?" she asked him excitedly, feeling the wand decide to let her do at least one thing.

With Dumbledore's nodding assent, she breathed in, looking over at the candle and saying simply "Winguardium Leviosa!"

The candle, oddly, burst into pieces, which floated about in an orb.

She looked a little put out at the result, but put the wand down, holding out her hands.

Albus leaned forward in his chair, fascinated at what the little girl was about to do. As Joon's child, there was no telling.

She seemed to be solely concentrating on the pieces of wax, making them come back together around the wick, using her fingers to turn the column and make sure it was smooth.

Mama and a tall, dark man walked into the room to see her give the wand back to Dumbledore, who looked mildly impressed.

Wendy turned to see them, and gave the dark man a very surprised look, walking over and looking straight up at him in awe.

"Wendy," Mama finally spoke up, "This is Professor Severus Snape, your father."

There was no indication that she'd even heard her mother. She was whispering something under her breath, scrutinizing him, looking him up and down.

Severus-

"You're _him_ then," she said suddenly, voice filled with quiet awe. "Mama, you've descried him horribly," she said plainly, looking over at her mother with undisguised frankness, an inky black eyebrow raised in an exact replica of his own.

He could have sworn he heard her whisper as she turned back to him, tilting her head slightly "He's much more handsome…"

She narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously. He looked a bit wary, as he had only just met her. She stepped a little closer, and held her arms up to him.

In an uncharacteristic pause of confusion, he realized she wanted him to pick her up. And so, he bent forward, grabbing her beneath the arms, and lifted her up to his torso, where she immediately situated herself.

"Daddy, can we go home?" she asked him simply, as though trying out the name.

"O-of course."

Dumbledore waved the odd troupe goodbye as they left, Wendy grinning at him as Severus carried her away.

Not Finished. Look at HP_WS Project for the Further Adventures.

L/A/N: You'll probably be mad at me, but this is the end. The last chapter of this fic I shall write. I'll post a starter paragraph under a different name for you to follow, so that I can begin to write the long, book like chapters of the next installment dubbed HP_WS Project: The Stone

Happy reading- Alikuma, the MarginallyTallentedWriter


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